Going Against the Grain
by Airyo
Summary: Gaa/Ino "Did I go a little too far this time? Oh no. I broke Sabaku no Gaara!" Ino grows up in Suna as a spy for Konoha. HIATUS
1. Prologue

000000000000

Going Against the Grain

00000000000

By Airyo

Prologue

It was dark in the orphanage. Dark, and much too quiet. Ino fought to muffle her sobs in her threadbare pillow. Even breathing sounded too loud to her and if the caretakers found her awake, they will whip her again. She tried to inhale slowly through her nose as taught to calm herself down, but her nose was too full of snot.

A choked whimper escaped her lips. She froze as the door to the dormitory opened. Ino held her breath, her heart thrashed against her ribs like some struggling wild animal. Then finally, after what seemed to be three lifetimes to the five-year-old girl, Ino heard the door close again.

As soon as she was sure the caretaker had left, she slipped out of her cot silently. Even as her bottom lip quivered from homesickness, Ino was still a shinobi trained especially in stealth. She made her way along the line of cots all holding orphans taken up from Wave. It was almost too easy to pick the lock on the door and sneak outside.

The moon was bright, shining on a clear path from the orphanage to the Sand village walls. All she had to do was get through the gates. As part of her training, Ino had committed the terrain of the Wind and Fire countries to perfect memory. She could find her way back to Konoha. Her faltering steps grew swifter as the exit out of hell grew near. Her teary eyes now glittered with hope as she darted from shadow to -

Ino yelped as the back of her shirt suddenly hoisted her into the air.

"I'm afraid no children are allowed near the outer walls, little miss," a polite voice informed her as her captor set her back on her feet. She turned to see that it was chuunin guard with kind blue eyes. He smiled down at her.

"You should be getting back to bed." A firm push directed her away from her goal. Ino meekly obeyed. Until she turned the corner and was out of his sight, anyways. Once she was sure she'd waited an appropriate amount of time, the little girl peeked out to see the stubby ponytail of the chuunin bobbing away. The coast was clear.

Ino ran as fast she could for the wall. She was skilled with chakra climbing, but who knew if another pesky guard would discover her again.

She made it six steps up vertically before she found herself dangling in the air by the back of her shirt. Again.

"Oi. What the hell do you think you're doing here, Wave brat?" This chuunin guard turned her to face him. He was a lot uglier than the last one.

"I want to go home!" Ino snapped back. "Lemme go, Fartface!"

He laughed in her face.

"Tough luck. You're not allowed to- YOW!" Ino released her teeth from his arm as he dropped her. But before she could run, a hard slap knocked her to the ground.

"Little brat! That is no way to repay Sand hospitality," Fartface raged. Ino gathered pooling blood in her little mouth and spat the glob of red mucus at him. Not the smartest idea. He roared with anger and raised his meaty fist. Ino shrank away, squeezing her eyes shut for impact.

"That's enough, Shiro-san."

Ino gingerly opened her eyes to see Stubby Ponytail holding her attacker's fist immobile.

"She bit me, Daisuke!"

"She is a child." Daisuke's voice was commanding. Ino watched with admiring eyes as he easily held back a man twice his size. There was moment where she thought Fartface might actually retaliate, but he just jerked his arm away out of the other chuunin's grip and stomped away.

"Little miss, you really should get back to the orphanage. The guards were ordered not to let you guys out of Suna." Ino nodded. She knew Daisuke was telling her that there was no way she'll get out here. She walked back, fighting tears. She missed Mommy and Daddy so much. She'd never been hit before, yet her first week here, she had already been slapped around more times than she could count. Ino hated Suna. It was a hot, horrid, dusty place full of mean bullies.

Even the orphanage loomed like some dark demon. She couldn't bring herself to go back in, so she walked circles around the building. Eventually, her feet led her to a small playground. She crawled under the slide, hugging her knees tight to her chest. The harsh sobs she had pushing down all day bubbled back with a vengeance. Her face crumpled into a blotchy mess of snot and tears.

"Um..."

Her head shot up. A little red-headed boy looked at her worriedly.

"Are you okay?" he whispered carefully. Ino bared her teeth at him.

"Does it look like I'm okay, Monkey-Butt?"

"Mon...key...butt?" He tilted his head in confusion, dark-ringed eyes squinted in an effort to think. Ino looked at him, perturbed by how dumb he was. She made the motions of a monkey before tilting her hips and patting her own rear end.

"Monkey butt," she confirmed. He still looked at her like she was some sort of alien.

"Because of your red hair, and because you're a butt," Ino explained slowly. There was no flash of understanding in his green eyes. She rolled her eyes in childish disgust, unaware that she was inching out of her hiding place under the slide, having long forgotten about her sorrows.

"You're a progidee, aren't ya?" she concluded, chubby arms akimbo on her hips as she faced him. "My Mom says that only progidees are this retarded, 'cuz all they do is train." She took his silence as a confirmation. "I was calling you a mean name 'cuz you asked a dumb question."

"Why aren't you running away?" he finally asked.

"I'm not scared of you just 'cuz you're a progidee," Ino sneered. She sniffed toughly and then remembered to wipe her nose with her sleeve.

"But-"

She jabbed a finger in his chest.

"I'm not weak just because I'm a girl! I beat up boys all the time."

He stared at her finger where it connected with his chest. Insulted that he was ignoring her in favor of her finger, she gripped his shoulders and shook him to punctuate her words.

"All. The. Time!"

"...Okay..." Monkey-Butt agreed in a strained voice. Shaking her head, Ino let him go.

"You're really weird," she told him with a grin.

"No, I'm not," he muttered sullenly. Delighted to get some sort of reaction out of him, Ino laughed.

"Yes you are, Monkey-Butt!"

"No, I'm not," he reiterated stubbornly.

"Guess what?" she suddenly asked, a sly glint in her eyes.

"What?" he allowed suspiciously.

"Monkey-butt! Wahahahahah!"

"That's not my name," he contradicted solemnly, a frown where his eyebrows should be.

"Then what is it?" Ino asked, genuinely curious. Before he could answer, dark figures surrounded them both. She stood frozen, terrified.

"I need to go," he told her sadly. Then they disappeared in swirls of sand.

"Wait!"

Her call echoed in the empty playground.

000000000000

AN: Ino is five-years-old. She is also a little ninja. She's not going to act like a normal ninja, nor a normal little girl.

Gaara didn't become seriously messed up around after age 6, when people tried to kill him continuously. Also, he's not actually retarded, just very, very surprised that another kid his age was even talking to him. And, I'm going with the assumption people can touch him when their intent isn't malicious.


	2. Scroll 1

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure Naruto doesn't enjoy being owned.

AN: It's Ino-centric, in case any of you were wondering.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

**Going Against the Grain**

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Scroll 1

00000000000000000000000000000000000

"Asa-chan! Asa-chan!"

I glanced up from my genjutsu scroll, my initial annoyance fading at the sight my classmate. The excited strawberry blonde waved her long, thin arms about, reminding me strongly of the windmills on the outskirts of Suna. I shifted further down my bench so she would have room to sit besides me.

"Hey Tsuru-chan! What's up?" I asked, although the source of her excitement was all too telling from the way her smile outshone even her new hitae-itai.

"We're getting our teams today, and we're now Genin! Life couldn't be more perfect!" she sang, draping a twiggy arm across my shoulders in an attempt to draw me into her dance/sway of victory. I shrugged off her arm when the others in the classroom began to stare. I leaned back into my seat as I crossed my legs. My warning violet eyes made it quite clear that if eyes did not turn away, the level of pain in the room would rocket to new levels. It was effective as always. Satisfied, I flicked my long rope of platinum blonde hair over my shoulder.

"Watch where ya' toss the mop, stupid wench," I heard someone grumble behind me.

"What did you say!" I yelled as I whipped around to confront the narrow brown eyes of Matsumaru. He glared at me from underneath his bandana styled forehead protector.

"I said, 'Watch where ya' toss the mop, stupid wench.' Don't tell me that on top of bein' damn ugly, you're also deaf." Fortunately for that idiot Matsumaru, our Academy sensei Kujira entered the room before I could reach over to tear out his ponytail and shove it down his throat.

"Alright, munchkins, listen up!" Kujira-sensei bellowed. Tsuru tugged my arm, pulling me back into my seat. I rolled my eyes rudely once more at the boy and turned my attention to the petite woman up front. Funnily enough, the woman whose name meant 'whale' was both the loudest and the smallest teacher of the entire teaching staff.

"You're finally out of my hair after today – thank Kami-sama! Stay here until your jounin sensei gets you." Then she proceeded to read out the teams of three. I listened only for my name, since most of these teams won't even make it genin. My team was near the top of the list.

"Team 4: Aoten Tsuru, Shinrino Asahi–" here, I cheered with Tsuru –" and Shiro Matsumaru." Here, I groaned.

AN: "'Aoten Tsuru' means 'Blue Sky Crane'" "'Shinrino Asahi' means 'Morning Sun of Truth'" "'Shiro Matsumaru' means'White Pine Circle'"

Already, I could **feel **the formulation of death plots within the minds of the majority of my female classmates. Did I mention that Matsu-I'm-so-cool-with-my-stupid-bandana-and-my-cursing-badboy-attitude-that-you-should-bow-down-to-me-and-grovel-maru was the Number One Rookie of the year and the current fad in bimbo world? Apparently, Matsumaru was also noticed the sudden rise of malicious intent aimed towards me.

"Sucks to be you, bitch," he whispered smugly so only I could hear his words. I flipped him off, and then threw a couple senbon towards, ahem, choice places to make my point. Smirking, I relished in the sound of his nervous gulp and turned my attention back to the front of the room.

Our sensei turned out to be a jolly grandfatherly shinobi named Yorokobi. He was far from old by normal standards, but by ninja standards, he was…well, he may as well be a living fossil. Which either meant he must be incredibly competent in battle, or incredibly competent at shirking his duties. I refrained from judging, though I immediately acted like I believed the latter of the two assumptions. Especially when he invited us to eat lunch with him rather than to train like the other groups.

"How old are you again, oyagi?" I asked innocently as we walked to his designated restaurant. He grinned at me, making the smile lines on his face crinkle pleasantly. Right then and there, I knew he was one of the best. That smile was enough to make any unsuspecting shinobi fall into the very dangerous action of underestimation, and no average ninja could exude such grandfatherly harmlessness.

"Forty-seven," he replied and patted my head. I snorted as if my confidence in him had dropped even further.

We were seated to a table with surprising efficiency despite the crowd gathered at the entrance of the restaurant. I was beginning to suspect that Yorokobi had something up his sleeve. My suspicions only increased when we found ourselves on the top level of the open-air building, accompanied by only a few other groups on the otherwise spacious floor. Tsuru, unsurprisingly, was mesmerized by the view. However, Matsumaru only narrowed his eyes, unimpressed by the show of wealth.

"So, why don't you guys introduce yourselves? I'll go first. My name is Chizutama Yorokobi. I dislike fighting, but I specialize in swords. I really like soda and Ihope to collect all the Coca-Cola merchandize out there." He beamed at us. If I hadn't known better, I really would have been disgusted by the seeming incompetence of my new sensei. Tsuru didn't seem to notice, beaming back at our teacher.

"I like soda too! My name is Aoten Tsuru and I specialize in taijutsu! I really really like cute things like bunniesand I hate getting sand in my shoes. I hope someday to bring honor to my father's side of the family."

Matsumaru went next.

"I am Shiro Matsumaru. I use the Shiro clan's wire techniques. I like good people. I dislike bad people…and I hope that those that matter will come to respect me." He leaned back with his arms crossed, daring any of us to comment on his terse sentences.

"And I am Shinrino Asahi. I think I specialize in genjutsu since I'm really good at dispelling them. I have a weakness for chocolate and I have strong dislike…" I trailed off here, unsure on what I could reveal to these Sand shinobi. Then I simply shot a sour look to my left where a certain arrogant boy sat.

"…for that bastard. And I hope that someday I can be called a great kunoichi." Yorokobi only smiled again at all three of us and then motioned for the waiter to bring in two plates of steaming teriyaki. My stomach grumbled, and I realized that perhaps I was a little hungry. I felt a small flash of charka, and then suddenly, saliva filled my mouth. The food I was regarding previously with only mild interest began to look strangely heavenly. To my immediate annoyance, my two teammates also eyed the food with the interest of one who had just survived a 7-year famine. We reached for our chopsticks simultaneously, warning off each other with dirty looks. Yorokobi looked almost smug.

"Well," he said with a chuckle. "There are only two plates of food, thus only two of you may eat. You are to fight for the food." Yorokobi stood and with a shove, sent the table of food sliding across the room, leaving us angry students sitting around nothing. "Also, you are disqualified and denied lunch immediately if any one of you leave your seats."

"You may begin."

He must have placed some sort of jutsu on us. Only that would explain the overwhelming hunger that seized me. It was distracting and I felt my control wavering towards my more animal instincts. That bastard had turned us into a trio of hungry wolves caught on the scent of blood. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to concentrate. With a deep sigh, I felt cool focus seep into my brain as my animal side faded to the back of my mind. I knew what I needed to do now.

"THAT TERIYAKI IS MINE!" I screamed, launching my chopsticks at Matsumaru. He looked at me with wild eyes, whipping out a roll of wire to shred my weapon to bits. I evaded injury by leaning back, still balanced on my bench. My fingers flashed through a minor genjutsu as I dug out several kunai to counter Tsuru's fist. Briefly, I mourned the fact that I was forbidden to perform any of the Yamanaka mind jutsus as Asahi. Nonetheless, I found it quite simple to slip away from the core of the battle, my henge double still "evading" the feverish attacks of my two classmates thanks to a little Notice Me Not genjutsu.

I must had appeared quite ridiculous to the watchful eyes of Yorokobi as I walked to the table, holding my seat firmly to my rear. Setting my bench on the ground, I popped a few pieces of the delicious meat into my mouth. It would much too suspicious if I immediately began to separate the teriyaki into three separate servings as if his "Hunger" jutsu hadn't affected me.

"Kai!"

Shit.

With wrathful expressions, Tsuru and Matsumaru vaulted across the room while carrying their seats, having discovered the same little loophole as I had. Matsumaru locked his ankles on the legs of his bench and with an impressive show of upper body strength, launched a devastating kick towards me with his hands acting as pivots on the floor. The corner of the wooden seat scraped my cheek, neatly leaving a red angry welt on my face. At the same time, Tsuru aimed an equally destructive blow towards the legs of my chair. With a squeak, I rolled out of the way, wincing as the edges of my new burden dug into my hands. To my extreme chagrin, I gained several more scrapes to my face when I encountered Matsumaru's wire traps.

With a growl that I almost didn't have to fake, I uprighted myself and glared at the two before me. My fingers flashed through a long series of seals to land on theboar seal, setting in motion Asahi's signature jutsu.

"Chakra Freeze no Jutsu!"

The spurt of pure charka issued from my body barreled through my targets' bodies, temporarily shutting down the nerve and charka lines, thus rendering them motionless for the moment. Unfortunately, I could never quite get that technique fine-tuned enough so that the eyes were also affected, and said failure resulted in two very heated glares directed at me. Our ensuing death glare match was interrupted by the loud clapping of one very amused Yorokobi.

"Wonderfully fought, wonderfully fought," he complemented with a chuckle as he walked over to the table where we were all currently gathered. The fading heat of the battle and my Chakra Freeze had cleared my teammates' minds of Yorokobi's dirty little trick, and they simply looked at him warily.

"I had expected you three to simply forget about all rules once taken up by my Desert Oasis no Jutsu and get out of your seats. Just like true ninja, you kept a certain coolness of mind despite distractions. Congratulations." He grinned widely at us as he sat down near the table.

"Although, we do have extra seats over there; your benches look at little scuffed up." Before I could open my mouth to warn the other two that we had yet to obtain food and could not leave our seats, Matsumaru's firm grip on my arm stilled me. Tsuru, who had nearly stood up, was also pulled back down by the bandanna-ed boy.

"We have yet to eat," Matsumaru said coolly, icy eyes boring into Yorokobi's. Our sensei nodded, his grin now even wider.

"You may eat, then. You three pass. Good job!" His eyes crinkled into happy little crescents and I sighed. A waiter appeared out of nowhere with two more plates of meat and suddenly, the there were customers again in the top floor.

"Well, that was fun," Tsuru chirped as she shoved teriyaki into her mouth. Matsumaru ignored her, concentrating only on his hard-won prize. I smiled wanly, picking at my share. Not that she noticed, but my appetite was gone. Right before Yorokobi-sensei had closed his eyes into a smile, he had regarded me with a most disconcerting glint in his sharp eyes. Like a cold snake slithering over my spine, I realized with dawning horror that he had never dispelled the Desert Oasis no Jutsu. And I never used any seals to dispel the effects.

000000000000000000000000000000

My mind racing as we all parted ways after lunch, I debated whether I should reveal a certain little secret about myself to put my new jounin sensei off my trail.

I have something of a split personality.

As the Haruno clan had demonstrated long ago, a spy's ability to separate parts of his or her mind into different people was essential to long term infiltration. Many spies outside the Haruno clan returned often confused, no longer able to distinguish between their fake characters and their real selves. Yet Haruno spies revealed an almost miraculous ability to switch between personalities, and even where they were caught, they could continually play the role under torture without any loss of sanity on the part of their real selves. Though I wasn't born with such an advantage, the strong sense of identity and mental flexibility of the Yamanaka blood served my purpose just as well. So at the tender age of 4, I learned how to meditate daily, filing all my thoughts, knowledge, and experiences into different viewpoints.

Shinrino Asahi is a blonde orphan with blue eyes, though some believe her to base her parentage in the Wave country. She is impulsive, loud, highly opinionated, and prone to jump to conclusions. Her taijutsu is average, ninjutsu nearly nonexistent, and genjutsu above average. Her only distinguishing feature is her amazing resourcefulness with what few abilities she does have. She has one signature move; the Chakra Freeze no Jutsu. In her free time, she helps at the Hidden Sand greenhouse. Recently, she took to wearing purple contacts because she claims it makes her appear more mysterious.

Yamanaka Ino, however, was cultivated to be a spy from the moment she was born. Thanks to years of intensive study, she is close to mastering all forms of the Yamanaka family jutsu, and is also developing several news one on her own. She was sent to the Hidden Village of the Sand at the age of 5, and has lived in secrecy for almost all her life. Her taijutsu is above average, ninjutsu off the charts, and genjutsu good enough to fool all but the observant and those with the Sharigan. Coldy intelligent and even more stubborn, she focuses solely on her ultimate goal – spying for Konoha.

Asa and Ino…

I had enough presence of mind to convince my sensei. Besides, it would be reasonable that this other "Asa" could appear only when Asa was in danger. But, damn, life would be a hell lot more complicated with three personalities in tow.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

The sun was setting by the time I got to the designated meeting area that evening. The dark bruises of clouds over head promised little rain – perhaps only a drop in temperature tonight by the way they muffled the waning sunlight. A chilling breeze whistled though Training Area #36, shifting the dark sand into elegant swirls around my covered ankles.

"Shinrino Asahi."

The ANBU stood unaffected by the wind, though I knew he must be freezing in such thin clothing. His familiar Eagle mask almost looked friendly in the murky darkness. My fingers flashing through a series of the hand signals, I motioned him towards the base of a towering boulder, where the wind chill would be considerably less. The eagle mask tilted in an almost grateful angle, its beak twisting into a parody of a smile.

'Report,' he immediately signed as soon as he laid his pack down and returned the silent password. His pale fingers glowed against the dark fabric of his fingerless gloves, charged with the indigo chakra needed to maintain the complex genjutsu around us.

'Position remains uncompromised. Mapped 10 more buildings –including Kazekage's home and first level of ANBU headquarters,' I replied, handing over two enormous scrolls, one of which contained the maps. I briefly summarized the contents of the second scroll as the Eagle ANBU tucked the scrolls into his pack. 'Sand Tanuki now Genin with elder siblings. Kazekage dealings normal.'

'Good. Hokage has new orders for you. You are permanently Genin?' I nodded, motioning towards the Sand hitae-itai secured around my waist. The ANBU continued.

'Chuunin exams in 5 months at Konoha. Ensure your team goes. Hokage wishes meeting in person and complete transfer of Sand memories to scribe.'

I frowned. This order would be difficult to accomplish. Asahi was mediocre as a ninja at best, as was Tsuru. A Genin team would hardly be allowed to ascend to Chuunin by the talents of one team member alone, no matter how well we learn to work together. If we learn how to work together at all. I relayed my concerns to the ANBU.

'Improve,' he gestured simply. He continued before I could protest the suspicious nature of such vast improvement within only a few months.

'Seek your teachers; not everyone will teach you automatically as I have.'

I knew that he would not advise me further when the ANBU dropped into an offensive stance. These precious few hours of night training with the Eagle ANBU every other month were the only times that I can fight with my full ability.

Time was limited. As always.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The salt and pepper mix of stars was already dissolving into the faint light of dawn by the time I stumbled back into the orphan housing area. With a quick calculation, I figured I could manage 3 hours of sleep if I skipped my shower. I changed my mind when I caught a whiff of myself. Two hours of rest would have to suffice for today if I wanted to keep any degree of dignity.

Not that I had any left.

To my utter frustration, I still barely hold my own against my teacher of 6 years. With no small exertion on my part, I only managed to corner him once. The rest of our mock battles all ended with a humiliating checkmate in his favor. Pathetic for a spy who needed to map the ANBU headquarters and regularly listened in on the Kazekage's private conversations. Mumbling about stupid jutsus that refused to be learned, I dragged my weary carcass towards my inviting dorm room.

The feeling of being watched caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stiffen, my skin tingling with acute discomfort. I jerked my head up, warnings flashing in my eyes as my weak body snapped to an alert. I froze at the sheer darkness of his aura. There, he crouched on the roof of my dorm, studying me with discomfiting interest. The stark silhoulette of his gourd stoodall too distinctlyagainst thewatery moonlight.

0000000000000000000000000

Wow…..seven pages in one day…I'm pooped.

Tell me what cha'll think!


	3. scroll 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

AN: …filler chapter…there are some event that need to happen…there is purpose in there …somewhere….mmm…..fooood

00000000000000000000000000000000000

Going Against the Grain

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Scroll 2

00000000000000000000000000000000000

Nearly two months had passed by the time I checked my dusty calendar again. These past forty-some agonizing days of mindless training and degrading D-rank missions had long blended into one very bad history documentary. When I wasn't sleeping or working at the Suna Greenhouse, I was with my team.

Two days into my official Genin career, Yorokobi finally displayed his curiosity. He abruptly attacked me after a particularly grueling training session. "Dark Asahi" emerged, throwing the Jounin for a complete loop when I deftly grabbed his ankle and disarmed the kick with skill no Genin should possess.

"Don't fuck with me!" I snarled, and then promptly followed this outburst with a confused smile.

"What's going on?" I had demanded, blinking as if I was worried by the blank in my memory. Yorokobi's smile was so shaky I was sure the Leaf was currently experiencing an earthquake.

"Oh nothing…I was just demonstrating a technique…"

The Jounin tested me exactly two more times before he was fully convinced of my "other" occupant. The next time, he warned me of the exact attack he had used to take me by surprise. I ended up with a free flying lesson, and not to mention a very close appointment with some sandy soil. In a huff, I awarded his little deed with a most thorough tongue-lashing before stomping home for the day. He tested me one more time after that; without warning yet again, he attacked. "Dark Asahi" nearly broke his arm. Apparently, my "other" persona was well aware of what occurred during her absence and had been itching for revenge…okay, fine, I had been itching for revenge, and used the chance for some payback, as well as a way to establish my fake other side.

Needless to say, my team quickly learned to never startle me.

So I wasn't very surprised one morning to see Matsumaru so conspicuously approach the team meeting point. He wore his trademark navy bandanna, spikey bits of dark green hair escaping his long ponytail to frame his childish face. And yes, I mean childish. Unfortunately for the touchy Number One Rookie, the baby fat that rounded his face refused to leave just yet. To compensate, Matsumaru wore almost the same exact outfit as his famed Jounin father, minus the vest. Personally, I thought he resembled more mummy than adult with the numerous bandage wrappings around his limbs that protected skin from sharp wires. And with every coming day, he added more bandages.

Matsumaru scowled even more when he noticed my gaze. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and leaned against the stretch of wall near me. After some moments of hostile glares, he nodded stiffly, which I returned just as stiffly.

Fortunately, the arrival of Tsuru and Yorokobi interrupted our silent war.

After our Genin induction, Yorokobi had carefully gone over all the small advantages we could gain in our fields by way of small tricks. Tsuru, for example, now wore a skin tight suit underneath a short sleeved kimono. Both articles of clothing were cleverly patterned in shades of gray to shroud her body in optical illusions, allowing for many opponents to misjudge the range of her devastating punches.

Matsumaru simply added more bandages, which reduced the drag of loose cloth on his limbs and increased agility – essential for someone who literally danced about in razor sharp wires. Yorokobi also advised him on some better places to store his wires.

As for me, Yorokobi told me to stock up on healing potions, focusing techniques, and soldier pills. There was little he could do for a person who did not specialize in physical fighting. Not that I need his help.

"Asa-chan!" Tsuru launched herself at me. Again. Pulling me into a hug, she gleefully rubbed her cheek against mine in a typical expression of Tsuru-love. I half-grinned and half-grimaced at the same time, gingerly patting her on the back – she really needed to watch her strength at times. Matsumaru looked distinctively disgusted.

"Alright, kiddos. Do you know what today is?" Yorokobi was saying, his eyes suspiciously crescent shaped. He answered before we could even process his question.

"C-rank day! Our first c-rank! Aren't you guys excited?" Even Tsuru stared, unsure on how to reply. Oblivious of our figuratively raise eyebrows, Yorokobi happily clapped his hands. Now I knew for sure he was acting.

Was the guy really so nervous over his genins on a simple escort mission? Matsumaru had apparently caught scent of a similar weakness in his sensei. He shrewdly glanced at Tsuru and me, the message in his eyes quite clear. 'Does this guy think we're four? He's hiding something.' I gestured my consensus, though unfortunately, Tsuru completely missed the fact that there even was an oddity in our sensei's behavior. Typical.

Yorokobi just grinned wider and shot off towards the mission center, bounding from sandy roof to sandy roof; all the more incriminating. I shook my head as we followed suit, lapsing into a comfortable arrow formation with myself at hind point.

Matsumaru was wise to be disturbed by the over-giddiness of said sensei, even if he wasn't aware of the dangerous implications of Yorokobi's strange nervous energy when paired with the current political turmoil roiling between the Landlord of Sand and Sunagakure. Sometimes it was disadvantageous to know too much. At this point, Tsuru may be the wisest ninja of us all to refrain (or be incapable of) from getting entangled in the subtleties of human society – we are tools, and that is all we are. There are no choices after a decision from above has come among us mortals, and we can do nothing but act on these orders, regardless of what we think of the politics behind said order.

I was ripped from my musings when our team halted abruptly.

"Oh! Temari-san, Kankorou-san, Gaara-sama!" Yorokobi greeted with a grin that did little to disguise his unease in the presence of "The Monster". The blond girl gravely nodded in acknowledgement, the minimum of polite responses. The masked puppeteer fared slightly better, managing a small wave of his hand. Then, all eyes rested on the "Monster", Sabaku no Gaara, youngest child of the Kazekage, and clearly the leader of the trio despite the seniority of his siblings.

He stood there, swathed in robes the color of either sand or dried blood or a combination of both. Armed crossed and chin lifted in an air of disinterest, the Genin's shuttered green eyes studied the team before him. The smell of fresh blood permeated the air. Thankfully, I was hidden away from his harsh gaze behind the mass of Yorokobi and flanked on either side by my teammates. Even then, I struggled with the icy pulses that sought to overtake my spine. The overwhelming presence of the Tanuki seemed to invade my lungs, filling them with such a sense of fear that I fought to draw each breath I took.

'It's simply an intimidation tactic,' I repeated in my head. 'He's exuding the aura of the demon to scare us…it's not really him that I'm scared of…it's the demon…'

Then all doubts of the intimidation tactic I managed to scrounge up flew from my head like the shards of a shattering mirror. Piercing green eyes had trapped my own in a cage of blood-red glass.

00000000000000000000000000000

The salt and pepper mix of stars was already dissolving into the faint light of dawn by the time I stumbled back into the orphan housing area. With a quick calculation, I figured I could manage 3 hours of sleep if I skipped my shower. I changed my mind when I caught a whiff of myself. Two hours of rest would have to suffice for today if I wanted to keep any degree of dignity.

Not that I had any left.

To my utter frustration, I still barely hold my own against my teacher of 6 years. With no small exertion on my part, I only managed to corner him once. The rest of our mock battles all ended with a humiliating checkmate in his favor. Pathetic for a spy who needed to map the ANBU headquarters and regularly listened in on the Kazekage's private conversations. Mumbling about stupid jutsus that refused to be learned, I dragged my weary carcass towards my inviting dorm room.

Only to freeze at the sight of piercing green eyes.

He simply crouched there on the roof of my dorm, seemingly untouched by the chill of departing night. The awakening colors of day cast irregular shadows over his thin face, which was further distorted by the shading created by the large gourd. His eyes seemed frighteningly large, and even seemed to glow as they perused me. I could only guess at the reasons he so methodically listed out in his head as to why I was awake at such an unusual time.

"It is 4:00 am," he finally hissed out, apparently unsatisfied with any of the explanations he came up with. "Why were you awake?"

I swallowed the pocket of dry air lodged in my throat, licking my dry lips in an attempt to coax some moisture to my tongue.

"…Training…" I managed to croak out.

"You lie," he snarled, shoulders rising much like the hackles of a provoked animal. The skin on the back of my neck prickled with the growing sense of demon energy surrounding me.

"I'm not lying," I shot back, sounding much braver than I felt. He stared at me. I fought not to fidget.

Then he replied with an unconvinced grunt as he closed his eyes and simply turned from me. With a flurry of sand, he was gone. Just as abruptly as his departure, the asphyxiating claw around my throat, too, had disappeared. I was left shivering, staring at where he had been.

000000000000000000000000000000000

Gaara didn't say anything, carefully studying my eyes, his face unreadable despite being fully illuminated by daylight. Finally, he narrowed his eyes, sneering at me as he issued a curt order to Temari and Kankorou.

"Let's go."

And they quietly left, leaving a silence behind them that could echo the breathy sigh of a butterfly.

"Ah…let us go as well…" Yorokobi said with small forced laugh. Tsuru and Matsumaru simply nodded mutely, their voices, I'm quite sure, temporarily rendered useless after such a direct confrontation with the "monster of suna". Such was the awful power of Sabaku no Gaara.

0000000000000000000000000

The mission center was a chaotic mess when my team arrived. Papers flew about like the wings of a startled flock of birds, and the administrators caught in the storm looked particularly haggard.

We hesitantly approached a desk, where the chuunin behind it was slumped over in his chair in a small moment of rest.

"Yorokobi-san," he greeted wearily.

"Hiro-san," Yorokobi replied. "My, what happened here?"

"Gaara-san. He was insulted by the C-rank mission assigned him." Now that the mass of office materials in the air had settled down, I could see the prominent pattern of darkening crimson on the lightly colored sand of the walls and ground. Some unfortunate chuunin had lost blood. Or perhaps even his life.

"His arm is useless now. A pity, he was a graduate of one those new institutions in the mountains, something about their increased stamina in battle because of the air…" Hiro heaved a great sigh, rubbing his bleary eyes with callused hands. "I'm just glad he didn't crush the entirety of him. Team 4 right?" Yorokobi didn't protest the change of subject, though his coloring seemed particularly pasty. I could say the same for all of team 4.

Hiro's face darkened as he flipped through the daily mission scroll.

"Come with me; your missions are on the desk of that chuunin." None of us needed to ask which chuunin he refered to.

"He should have them labeled…ah here it is." After some rifling through the small stack on top of the unoccupied desk, he produced a scroll neatly marked 'Team 4 – Yorokobi, Shinrino, Aoten, Shiro'. Yorokobi ignored the fresh specks of blood and unrolled it, pupils dilating in displeasure as he read it.

"Are you sure this is it, Hiro-san? We need an escort mission, not a retrieval mission." Hiro glanced at his master scroll.

"Yes, it is what the Kazekage ordered."

Faking yet another grin, Yorokobi nodded, tucking the scroll in to his jounin vest.

"Alrighty then team, let's get down to business!" This time, even Tsuru caught the falsities of his cheer. Team 4 exchanged wary glances.

000000000000000000000000000

Over the past 7 years of my career, the differences between the Kazekage and the Landlord of the Sand had been the foremost in the political front. The Daimyo was loosing faith in his Sand ninjas and instead, gradually turned more often to the ninjas of the Leaf. At the same time, the budget of the Sunagakure grew noticeably smaller each passing year. The Kazekage had become desperate well before I was even born – thus, the tragic failure of the Tanuki experiment. The closing walls of distrust had forced him to eagerly accept even the riskiest attempts. And now he pays dearly for his recklessness. More than any other act by the fading Hidden Village of Sand, Sabaku no Gaara himself stands as the biggest taint in the eyes of the Sand Daimyo, and consequently, in the eyes of his own father. Needless to say, the broken relations between the Kazekage and the Daimyo have healed little.

Now Team 4 was ordered to, ahem,…retrieve…a scroll containing notes of a recent council meeting held by the Daimyo that may hold clues for future plans regarding Sunagakure. Whatever they were, the building tensions boded well for neither party.

Within hours of receiving the mission, Team 4 was in formation, flying along the starlit dunes of the landscape towards the Daimyo's remote castle. Since this was only a C-rank, the guards of the scroll would only be low-class palace soldiers. Nonetheless, Yorokobi stressed the need to leave no sign of our visit.

"If the Daimyo gets any indication that council scrolls had been disturbed, he will hire ninjas to investigate. That will be our undoing," he warned us as we rested beneath a collapsible canopy. It was much too hot to travel out in the open desert during the day; fortunately, the constant motions of our bodies kept us warm enough to travel safely at night.

Tsuru yawned, the nearly unbearable heat of the sand lulling her eyelids close. Following her example, I also expressed my extreme fatigue and laid down on my mat. To my annoyance, my other teammate occupied a large area of my intended sleeping territory.

"Move, bastard. I need my sleep and you have first watch," I groused with another jaw-crackling yawn.

"Like I need you to tell me," Matsumaru hissed back. My teammate then scowled further, but he still did not move from his position, leaning against one of the supports of our makeshift tent. Yorokobi said nothing, cheerful eyes trained on his blade as he systematically wiped it down before he could too get some rest.

"You better freakin' move those damn legs of yours, or else you won't have anything to move," I warned, much too tired and cranky to remain courteous.

"Try, and I'll laugh as you fail, bitch," he shot back with equal venom. I bristled, literally spitting with anger.

"Be nice, you two," Tsuru scolded before sleepily rolling over. Whether she consciously or subconsciously commanded it, the both of us shamefully fell silent. Rarely have we ever lapsed into such profane names in our exchanges. The circumstances of our first C-rank were getting to us. All of us.

With one last mildly annoyed glance towards Matsumaru, I shifted my pack around until I could curl up in a comfortable position and fell to blissful darkness.

I had hardly closed my eyes for more than a few minutes when I was shaken awake.

"Asa-chan, get up!" Tsuru said softly. A slight crease marred her usually jovial brow, and even her smiling blue eyes were dim, slightly rimmed by redness.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I inquired. To my horror, I then realized that dusk was already settling. Matsumaru, the jerk, hadn't woken for me for second watch.

"What watch did you have?" I asked Tsuru who had been in the middle of an enormously long yawn. She blinked away the residual tears in her eyes.

"Third – Matsumaru woke me up early…and I wanted to sleep!" Tsuru then pouted. Chuckling in relief that her poor appearance were merely due to weariness, I gave her a quick sympathetic hug before I turned to Matsumaru in a fury.

"Why didn't you wake me!" I demanded, although I made sure that I screamed softly. Matsumaru blinked similarily bleary eyes as he looked at me.

"Cuz' you would not freakin' wake up ; that's why!" he replied sharply. With a huff, he shoved his final set of wires in his pack and stood, clearly indicating that he would not continue the conversation.

I did not believe his pitiful excuse for a moment. When Asahi slept, Ino would keep watch, silently guarding her body. It was inconceivable that I would not wake when asked to. But the winking eyes of night were already away the last strains of day and I needed to help break camp, so I let Matsumaru go for the moment.

I ended up being the last one to finish packing. Asahi was fuming (even Yorokobi had taken a watch!) and few words were exchanged that long night. However, it did not escape Ino's notice that Tsuru continuously sneaked small wistful glances to her left, where Matsumaru was coincidentally located in our formation.

We did not stop again until we reached the border of the Daimyo's private territory, a glorious span of Eden tucked beneath a small mountain range. The tangible scent of vivacity in the air brought back flashes of deep comforting forest greenery, something that couldn't be imitated by even one of the largest greenhouses in the world. I gave a small sigh as we crossed into this garden. All I could remember of my earlier childhood was the greenery, for it would be much too dangerous to hold the views of Konohagakure in my head should I ever be caught. If I strained my concentration, I might just summon the memory of a mother's loving caress, or a father's strong secure embrace. A wave of homesickness for a place I can't even remember washed over me like the moisture-laden air of this beautiful place.

"-camp here," I caught Yorokobi saying as I shook my head clear of these distracting thoughts. "It's far enough that we can slip away quickly, but close enough that we can watch for the guard pattern." He glanced up at the rosy hues of approaching dawn, judging the time.

"We have enough time to change before we must hide." With that, we all found an appropriate place to slip on the dark brown outfits Yorokobi had supplied us earlier.

Our sensei had sobered, demeanor completely business-like, and now I was struck by just why he was still alive in an age of youthful ninjas. The tight tension in my chest eased a little in this comforting knowledge. Our mission may be unusually difficult for Genins of our caliber, but with Ino and Yorokobi working with the formidable potential of Tsuru and Matsumaru, I knew I could breathe a little easier.

00000000000000000000000000000

The next night found me still crouched in the same tree I had been during the day. I shifted in my perch, trying to keep the bark away from any part of my skin while maintaining a close eye on the rotating guard schedule. I already memorized the pattern, although Yorokobi said to sit through one last cycle make sure before acting.

A deep bronze flash of chakra warned me of Tsuru's approach and I lowered the genjutsu disguising my location. She landed silently on the branch next to me despite the hefty weights I knew she wore.

'We're ready,' she signaled rapidly. Yorokobi had taken to teaching us the sign language often used by Sand ANBU. Surprisingly enough, Tsuru had learned it even more quickly than Asahi did.

'Four and a half minutes to enter first wall of defense, guard change in 10 minutes,' I replied.

'We're all in position. Sensei said to take first volley.' I nodded and Tsuru moved to a higher branch for a better visual of our surroundings. Yorokobi and Matsumaru would enter and take the scroll, all the while Tsuru and I would remain back to aid in the break-in and escape. I rearranged my limbs into a loose crouch, closing my eyes as I began weaving a genjutsu that could be laid perfectly over this area. Almost everything in the entrance to take the scroll would rest on my genjutsu.

Minutes later, I distantly noted the departure of the current guard. Immediately afterwards, two dark figures slipped soundlessly into the dusky courtyard and into the Daimyo's castle. The clever use of Matsumaru's wires and some very reflective kunai earlier that day had revealed the layout of most of the castle. With my chakra tags on both Matsumaru and Yorokobi, I could track their progress in and alter my wide-range genjutsu as I needed to help them reach their destination.

Two flashes of chakra from Yorokobi and I knew they were safely in the Royal Library. With a sign of relief, I shifted my jutsu range towards the building. Now all I could do was to wait for something to happen.

I felt my eyes widen with rush of adrenaline pumping through my veins. Two guards had managed to ignore my notice-me-not genjutsu and had discovered Matsumaru. Using a technique that Yorokobi taught me, I sent a surge of my own chakra through the tracking chakra line attached to Matsumaru. One of my jutsus, I knew, would burst out of Matsumaru's fingers with the guide of my chakra to complete the Nausea no Jutsu. When the guards' chakras flickered, I knew they were down for that battle. As I expressed my relief, I made a mental note to thank my sensei after we completed the mission; his tiresome chakra enhancing exercises and strange demands for me to be constantly reading my teammates' chakra had finally blossomed to their full use in my eyes.

Fortunately for Asahi's chakra supply, there were no more close-calls on the way back out. Two more flashes of chakra from Yorokobi informed me of their success. Pausing only to eat a soldier pill, I then poured my reserves into shielding two ninjas dashing across the courtyard.

Then finally, Yorokobi and Matsumaru were within the range of my other shielding genjutsu, and I released my hold on the jutsu, collapsing back more from overdue relief than from actual exhaustion. It was over. The worst of it was finally done. Done, done, done. Despite everything I've ever had to do as a ninja, this was my first true mission. (D-ranks do not count) And it was successful. Tsuru smiled proudly at me as she drew an arm around to help me down.

Yorokobi and Matsumaru were waiting at the bottom of the tree.

So were a score of rather hostile Konoha jounin.

…

…

…shit…

…

…

00000000000000000000000000000000


	4. Scroll 3

A.N: This is a very dark chapter. Please do notice that this story was rated so high for a reason. If you can't stand the violence, please don't read this.

P.S: Thanks to all who reviewed!

**00000000000000000000000000000000**

**Going Against the Grain**

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000**

0000000000000000000000000000

Scroll 3

Yorokobi was murderous. Gone was the happy-go-lucky grandfather. In his place was a timber wolf, snarling on the defensive for his pack.

He didn't meet our eyes as Tsuru and I quickly lowered ourselves to the ground, though his clenched fists relaxed minutely when we made it safely back on solid ground. The twenty-some jounins simply watched us, collectively narrowed eyes called the hairs on the back of my neck to attention.

"Won't you give us that scroll?" one of the jounin finally inquired, stepping forward with one hand extended towards us. Yorokobi replied in a cool voice; "I fear we have need of it." The jounin was reluctant to have his team take on a group of twelve-year-olds and one old man - he seemed to see us as sitting ducks.

"Than we shall fight," was all my sensei said. In the blink of an eye, he had out a katana, making his intentions quite clear to the opposing faction. Determinedly, I joined him, shrugging off Tsuru's arm and readying myself to, of all things, battle my own countrymen. Matsumaru and Tsuru followed my lead, dropping into deceptively loose stances.

A flicker of movement was all we needed.

"Death's Embrace no Jutsu," I hissed just as my teammates simultaneously launched themselves at their chosen opponents. My two targets spasmed as suffocating blankets of carnage and death closed over them. A quick swipe of my kunai, and they lay still. They were Asahi's first kills.

By the time I looked away from the two ninja I had just incapacitated, Yorokobi had long engaged the jounin he exchanged words with. The metallic screeches of their blades grated against my ears as they rang out on a background of silent stars that watched so distantly in the sky. Save for their battle, however, our struggle for our very lives remained silent. We attack silently, we bleed silently, we die silently. Such is the way of the ninja. I simply gritted my teeth at this morbid thought and ploughed through my enemies with a lethal combination of blade and genjutsu.

The minutes soon melded together like wax left too long in the sun; I could no longer tell the difference of one second to one hour or to one day. There was only the ninja before me, the corpses behind me. Between the four of us, their numbers were quickly whittled down to a fraction of their mass. But even death came at a high price. The brief moments that I could glance around to my teammates only fueled the rising panic that threatened to overtake my presence of mind. Yorokobi had a long gash down the length his leg, bleeding as a testament to his determination to the safety of his students; he had thrown himself in the path of a wayward fuuma shuriken that would have gutted Matsumaru. But even the best sensei could not prevent the deep wounds that Matsumaru forced himself to ignore as he flung wires about himself like the deadly web of a poisonous spider. Tsuru's shoulder had been dislocated numerous times; yet each time, she simply nudged it back in place to punch just as hard as she did before. We were all so tired, so weak, so outclassed. This is no C-rank - this is a fucking A-rank.

At some point in the fray, we had managed to work ourselves into a tight circle, back to back as we instinctively retreated to the strength we gained from our team. My legs threatened to collapse right from under me any moment. But we still had to fight on. I leaned on Tsuru as my red-stained fingers flew through the slippery seals. I shoved my dwindling chakra into my signature move in a foolish move of desperation.

"Chakra Freeze no Jutsu!" I gasped out hoarsely. My throat was burned raw from the harsh breaths I drew so rapidly.

There were ten jounin left.

Three jounin were caught in the emission of pure energy. Tsuru was ready for them. She pushed off against my weight with her bad shoulder to propel herself into a roundhouse kick that rendered all three waiting targets imobile. But before she could land, she writhed in midair with a bloodcurdling sound of pain. Her movements jarred my tentative balance and we fell into a heap onto the ground.

Seven jounin left.

Holding her shuddering form, I looked down in horror to see the lower half of her right leg missing. A jounin had taken advantage of Tsuru's momentary lack of defense. Warm liquid pooled around my shins. Bile rose in the back of my throat as the metallic scent of my friend's blood invaded my nose. Forcing myself to swallow, I tried desperately to block out the pained gasps of this redheaded child in my arms.

"A..asa-chan..." she whimpered. "Ah...it...it..." Forgetting my nausea, I gently put a finger to her lips and laid her down on the blood-soaked grass. Already her skin was cooling, and my other teammates could only hold up the remaining jounins for so long. I hugged Tsuru tightly and heat flared in the palm of my hand. She screamed until her vocal chords broke. Feeling her go slack, I knew she had found temporary escape from the pain I had inflicted on her. I could only hope that my sloppy cauterization would save her life.

"You," I snarled as I turned to the guilty ninja. "You will die." Vengeance filled my veins with new energy, my chakra spiking in alarming surges. I was a fool for holding back my best moves, unconciously falling into the pattern of my foremost priority - being a spy, to fight as Shinrino Asahi. But I am Yamanaka Ino. And my friends are dying. Pinning the jounin with a hard look, I pried a katana from the stiff fingers of a nearby corpse. It is time to end this slaughter. But even my cold purpose could not keep my heart from weeping at the glimpse of human remorse in the man's eyes as I beheaded him.

Six jounin left.

Hardly before his head could fall to the ground, I wheeled to attack another enemy. A snapping twist of my blade send him on a one-way trip to hell.

Five left.

Another twirl of my katana and his companion lost an arm. I ended his pain by ramming a kunai through his windpipe. Similarily, I expelled another ninja from this world, this time with a broken fuuma shuriken blade. With each life that I took so brutally, a part of me faded away with it.

Three left.

A pained grunt behind me sounded. I whipped around in time only to witness a jounin's blade bite into Yorokobi's ribs. I was too far away; again, I was incapable to help as I watched the cruel steel slide into its new sheath. The dark red of life blood seeped out sluggishly, coloring the dark brown cloth to a even darker shade.

All motion ceased as the rising sun spilled out of the horizon, allowing its bloody hues of morning to bathe our torn bodies. But even the sun refused to shine on our tainted weapons. Then the jounin pulled out his katana with a wet sound that rang in my ears and my sensei fell back, no longer supported. His back formed a graceful slouch before the unforgiving ground crashed into him. He didn't move again.

I no longer cried when I slew the jounin.

Two.

I saw Matsumaru receive a sharp cuff to the jaw in the corner of my eye. He retaliated by coiling his wire around the ninja's neck as he flew backwards. His momentum decapitated his opponent.

One.

Simultaneously, we locked wild eyes. Simultaneously, we shifted our gazes to the remaining Leaf jounin. Together, we attacked. The first sound of our entire battle had been the clash of Yorokobi's blade. The second had been Tsuru's scream. The third was the loud snap of the last jounin's neck when it broke under the force of our fists.

Zero.

00000000000000000000000000000

Matsumaru didn't ask questions as we gathered wood but I could feel his accusing thoughts pierce my back. Immediately after the last jounin, Matsumaru and I had gathered the limp figures of Yorokobi and Tsuru and rushed away from the bloody site that would be forever ingrained in my mind. It was still early morning, perhaps 5 or 6 am. We were still in the grove on the Daimyo's land, gathering wood for a large fire. Yorokobi-sensei will not wake again. But I refuse to leave his body to the vultures.

I was numb inside as I watched the lined features of Yorokobi melt away to ashes. He looked old, but I was the one that felt old. I felt so jaded that I could no longer even convince my tear ducts to produce a physical form of pain. I thought of the times I had spent with this amazing teacher, his child-like enthusiam, his patience, his seeming harmlessness...but all I could conjure was a mild ache in my chest.

"Let's go," Matsumaru whispered. He had been crying; thin lines ran down his face where his tears had traveled. Tsuru was in his arms, her pale limbs ghastly with their coating of her blood. I took her from him, softly stroking back her strawberry red hair.

"Yes, let's," I replied as he bent to scoop Yorokobi's ashes into a pouch. After surveying the area to ensure its appearance of no one, we forced more soldier's pill past our lips and headed out into the unforgiving Suna desert land. We could only hope that chakra pill poisoning nor the blistering midday sun would hinder our approach of the Sunagakura hospital.

We made the two-night trip in half a day.

00000000000000000000000000

Warm darkness surrounded me, as if I was floating a calm sea. The gentle waves cradled my sore body like the hands of a loving mother. I felt so safe, so loved...

"Aashi..."

Yes?

"Asahi...dear..."

I turned to this tender voice. And then I screamed, trying to swim away in this motionless prison of water. But my flailing limbs did nothing. Yorokobi's eye sockets stared at me, his eyes long gone to decay. His wrinkled skin was covered in green mold and bacteria, but he reached out to me, fingers composed of nothing but bleached bone.

Get away! Get away! Get away! How do you know my name? I did nothing to you!

I shrank from this remnant of my sensei, my screams coming so fast that they were soon lodged in my narrowing airpipe.

"Asahi...no...Ino...you selfish, arrogant girl...you think to defeat twenty jounin with only the skills of Asahi? Had you taken care of your wayward countrymen, your teammates would not have been so badly wounded. Instead, you thought it apropriate to remain in the guise of your lesser abilities. We pay for your foolishness..."

I clapped my hands over my ears, shaking my head furiously until my blonde ponytail whipped around me like Matsumaru's wires.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! I did nothing to you!

"Exactly, you did nothing to help us. You've betrayed us...traitor!" His voice suddenly grew to fill every bone in my body.

"Traitor...TRAITOR...TRAITOR..."

"Asahi...ASAHI...ASAHI..." His voice repeated these words until my false name and that horrid word seemed to merge as one, becoming synonmous in their same sound. His decayed hands reached my throat, squeezing my life out of me. The stink of his flesh sank deep into my lungs, plugging away the fresh air that I had taken for granted.

"Asahi...ASAHI...TRAITOR...ASAHI...TRAITOR...ASAHI!"

"ASAHI!"

I woke with a dry sob, clawing at my neck. Even now, my eyes would not burn with the tears I knew would provide the release of this uncomfortable pressure in my chest. Blindly grasping for hand holds, I scrambled to sit up and gulp in the delicious air that filled my too-small windpipe. The suffocation I had experienced so horrifically turned out to be sheets tangled around my limbs. The shuddering of my bones? Fatigue.

Someone cleared her throat behind me. I turned to see Kujira-sensei, my academy teacher. Her usual nonchalant expression was replaced by one uncertainty; like she had news that could shatter my last shred of sanity.

"Ah, you're awake," she said simply. "That was a heavy case of soldier pill poisoning you suffered from. I hope you're feeling--"

"Kujira-sensei, don't play with me," I murmured, feeling the weight of a thousand hands on my shoulders. "We were issued the wrong mission, weren't we?" Her mouth snapped shut. I plowed on.

"There was something in that scroll that Sunagakure needed; the Daimyo wouldn't leave such a scroll lying around for the taking. He knew that ninjas coveted the information in that scroll. Why else would he hire Leaf Jounin to guard the notes of a simple conference? Not to mention, those jounin were picked to counter very specific ninja abilites - like they were waiting for the arrival of a certain team." I didn't look at her, but all my senses were focused intently on her reaction.

"Yes. The Chuunin who had assigned missions got Team 4 and Team Gaara confused." That made sense. Little wonder that Gaara had been so insulted. His team easily completed high B and C-rank missions. They had no need for low-level escort missions.

"But how did he get Team Gaara and us confused?" Kujira-sensei smiled bitterly.

"Some idiot found it amusing to downplay the distinct characterisics of Team Gaara. The Chuunin was told to look for a 'brown-clad redhead, a tempermental blond and a strange but dangerous boy with distinctive headgear'." I rubbed my face.Under different circumstances, I would have laughed out loud. All I wanted to do now was to hurt the fool who described Team Gaara as such.

"And my teammates?" I asked.

"Oh! Matsumaru is well on his way to recovery. He simply had a case of soldier pill poisoning like you did!" I nodded, relieved. Matsumaru did not have the same chakra reserves I did, which required him to ingest many more soldier pills in order to keep up the breakneck pace we set to rush back.

"What about Tsuru?" Kujira-sensei's smile fell from her face. She said nothing. As soon as she turned away her gaze, I knew. I changed my mind. I plan to take this unknown idiot's neck between my bare hands and rip his spine out through his esophogus.

"I'm sorry Asa-chan...she..." I gritted my teeth, shaking my head fervantly to shut her up.

Kujira-sensei still refused to meet my eyes. And I knew, oh, how vividly I knew my dear friend must have suffered. In pain, in such utter pain that she could produce no more than the small animal-like whimpers that had haunted my ears.

"Aah," was I said.

"Asahi--" I stood, looking down the length of my nose at Kujira-sensei. My legs protested loudly against such activity after so many days of imobility, but I held myself tall.

"Take me to her," I demanded. My sensei's strong arms supported me and my trembling legs as we made our way down to the cemetery out behind the hopsital.

It was a beautiful day. The doors opened to the sun rays that were warm and comforting as they danced on a cloudless sky of deep blue and hints of blushing pink. A light breeze caressed my brow, tugging teasingly at my long blonde hair. It was the perfect day...for it matched Aoten Tsuru perfectly. Kujira-sensei led me to Tsuru's engraved name stone and immediately returned to the hospital building, leaving me alone in an empty cemetery. My legs gave out after only a few minutes and I fell to my knees. With steady fingers, I reached forward and traced her name. I never shed one tear.

"I am a ninja, Kujira-sensei." I had told my old Academy teacher back in the hospital room. She had stared at me sadly, for she understood.

I am a ninja, Kujira-sensei. Please do not see me mourn, for a ninja cannot show her emotions. But please do not worry, for I am no longer a child. I ceased being so when I became a ninja.

00000000000000000000000000000000000


	5. Scroll 4

AN: Yay, another chapter. I have felt the gracious hand of inspiration! Hehe. Thanks to everyone that reviewed!

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Going Against the Grain**

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Scroll 4

00000000000000000000000000000

Three days after I woke up, the doctors cleared me to leave the hospital. I had been in there for almost two weeks, but Matsumaru was still being kept for observation. He had lost all feeling in his left arm. As for that abominable scroll? It had been taken away to the Kazekage long ago.

I am at least Chuunin level, perhaps, but that wasn't enough to save my teammates, now was it? I had failed my teammates as a ninja once. I had two and a half months to redeem myself as such. The Chuunin exam was coming up fast.

I poured myself into my training, until there was nothing that filled my mind but jutsus and jutsus. Though I was now teamless, the other genin cells were all full and there was no team for me to join. The addition of a team member often endangers the rest of the team since they would be unaccustomed to working with my skills and I would only hinder them. So I trained separately, with every passing Jounin who had a little free time to spare an orphaned Genin. I sought genjutsu (illusion) specialists, ninjutsu (ninja arts) specialists, taijutsu (physical arts) specialists, fuuinjutsu (sealing) specialists, any kind of specialists from whom I could glean new knowledge. Many times, I found myself on my figurative knees, begging for them to teach me, even for half an hour. Within weeks, I was famous as the Ronin Nin, the Genin that trained with every team and every Jounin.

Even then, when it seemed I had learned something from every jounin in the village, I refused to be satiated in my thirst for more. I trained myself to sleep 5 hours a night, no more. I religiously ran laps and did toning exercieses. I practiced my jutsus until I could perform each one 10 times in a row. Several times, I ended up at the hospital due to exhaustion or chakra depletion. But rather than placently sit there to heal, I found a wheel chair and followed the medic nins around until they agreed to teach me several basic healing jutsus. I did the same to village strategists, herbalists, historians, and weapon specialists...I meant it when I said I doggedly pursued the knowledge of anything that could bolster my worth as a kunoichi, a ninja.

Sometimes, my teacher did not give his or her knowledge to me conciously. When a stingy jounin rejected my plead to train under him or her, I walked that jounin's mind later that night and took what I originally asked so politely for. And then left them a nice little hangover for the morning.

At first, when I started walking so many minds, I suffered a terrible identity crisis from merging my spirit with so many others. I had to double my meditation time in order to prevent myself from thinking myself as both a kunoichi and a civilian, both an ANBU and an Genin, both 51 and 12, and the most problematic of all, both a man and a woman. How my face burned when I walked into a man's restroom and tried to use a urinal! Needless to say, I meditated long and hard that night until every fiber of my being was aware of who I am. Yamanaka Ino, spy from Konohagakure, grew up in Sunagakure as Shinrino Asahi, mindwalker, training to become a Chuunin, and most definitely **not** male.

The first two weeks of my self-induced training period were the longest two weeks that I could have ever experienced. I was constantly in pain from tearing this or breaking that. I could hardly keep my eyes open most of the time and my mind was plagued by migraines everyday. I nearly gave myself heart attacks during several close calls when I tried to perform my spy duties with only a half-filled fuel tank and nearly got caught.

I also received news that Matsumaru had to have his left arm amputated. The stimulants of the soldier pills had burned his chakra and blood veins beyond repair and his arm had died. I tried to visit, but his family refused me entrance. The flowers I brought died within the hour. I almost cried as I gently laid my bundle of gifts in the trash, for my last teammate would not even see me. He knew that I had betrayed my team in the worst way. He knew. So I trained even harder after that visit.

My body grudgingly, slowly, adapted to my harsh routine and the next month flew by in a blur. Before I knew it, I had only a month before the Chuunin examinations.

My day started as it had for many weeks. I woke at 4:30 and ran my laps around Suna. At 5:30, I trained with Ryusuke, a Jounin who specialized in taijutsu. Short-fused and crude the guy may be, but his kicks were just as explosive as his temper. After he left, I went through the katas that my Hawk ANBU sensei had taught me, careful to through up subtle genjutsus that hid the Konoha based movements. When I finally raised my head to check the time, the sun already climbing towards the pinnacle of the sky. I moved to ninjutsu for a few hours. When I checked time again, it was around 10 am. I picked up a quick brunch and headed for the hospital. A statuesque medic called Makoto had agreed to train me in the arts of healing on her break. Our session ended all too soon, but I learned a new cauterization technique that could save lives in the future. I refused to think of what I could have done in the distant past with that jutsu and dashed out the hospital to the Kazekage tower. It was around noon. I popped a soldier pill, which I still needed in order to sustain my training regime, and burst into the building unhindered.

"Daisuki-sama!" I screamed happily as I launched myself at the surpised Jounin. His collegues chuckled as he barely managed to keep the both of us upright as I glomped him. Yes, glomped him. Meet Daisuke, Asahi's longtime crush of 5 years. He had silky black hair that was pulled back into a stubby ponytail. Dark eyebrows arched over a pair of deep blue eyes. He had a long slender nose and strong chin that melded beautifully with his high cheekbones. Toned biceps peeked out from his shortsleeved shirt and I knew that his bulky flak jacket hid a very nice set of abs. When Daisuke stood, he towered over me by over a foot.

"Aa...Shinrino-san..." he murmured with a blush, discomfited by the gaze of pure adoration that this little Genin gave him. I had deliberately mispronounced his name so it sound like a confession of extreme like. He tried to gently push me off his lap, but I was latched to him too firmly. See how polite and uncertain of himself he is? Asahi may love him to death, but Ino found the situation all too convenient to ignore. Several times, the guards had allowed me into the well-guarded Kazekage tower because they found it so amusing that this slip of a girl was so openly pursuing one of the top jounin in the village. And after that disastrous mission, everyone was even more lenient with me. I am the Ronin Nin, the family-less, team-less Genin. Rather than closing her heart, Asahi ...no, the both of us, mourned by loving even more. Now so acutely aware of how short life really was, Asahi poured her soul into loving her last important person. Who could deny the passion of a grieving child?

"Shinrino-san...I can't breathe..." Daisuke gasped out. I apologetically released his neck and clambered onto the chair beside him.

"Oh Daisuki-sama! I learned a new move today from Makoto-san! Look! Now I can properly cauterize wounds!" I gave him a bittersweet smile and then prattled on about a fictional version of my day, how I got ice cream but then it melted into my hair, how these two little girls found a puppy and helped it to the vet, how I saw a cute pair of old people...

"We can grow up to be like that," I told him with a sly twelve-year-old grin. "They were so cute, holding hands and helping each other keep balance." I demonstrated by falling over, only to have Daisuke instinctively reach out to steady me. A burst of laughter emerged from his collegues again, causing a bright blush to bloom over Daisuke's pale cheeks. He retracted his hands as if I burned him. I grinned at him.

"See, I told you," I exclaimed childishly. "You do care for me. Sooner or later, you'll see that I'm the right woman for you!" I leaned against his muscular shoulder, wrapping my arms around him. I closed my eyes, soaking in the warmth of his arm against my cheek. "I love Daisuke-sama because he would never leave me if he loved me back. Daisuke-sama is strong enough that even if Asahi-chan failed him, he could be okay..." Even the softening of my words did not muffle my meaning. An uncomfortable silence settled over the group as I clung almost desperately to Daisuke's arm. He was the one that had tried to so awkwardly comfort me. He was the one that seemed to understand my driving need to learn more, more, more so I could be a better ninja.

"Shinrino Asahi...child..." he murmured and I felt a gentle hand pat my head. I jerked my head away from his condesending hand.

"I'm no child!" I declared heatedly. "I'm fine! I'm strong! Don't look down at me for my age!" Daisuke honored me with a genuine smile.

"I know, Shinrino-san. You are very strong. But even strong people need to deliver messages sometimes, neh?" He dangled a scroll in front of my face.

"Help me give this to the Kazekage and prove how strong you are." Despite his words, I sensed no condesention in his tone, only a teasing lilt. Raising one eyebrow, I took the scroll and headed for the entrance.

"You are so flirting with me," I quipped right before I exited. Raucous laughter exploded behind me and a smug little smirk tugged at my lips. I had allowed Daisuke to 'trick' me into leaving the room because I knew he was growing uncomfortable in evading the inevitable issue of my feelings. Besides, this job will let me bug a few more places in the Kazekage tower.

0000000000000000000000000

I managed to chakra tag one of the major conference rooms. Feeling proud of myself for escaping the notice of several ANBU, I suantered to the Kazekage's office, twirling the scroll. Figuring that the Kazekage must already know of my arrival since I had neglected to conceal it so thoroughly after I completed my little detour, I opened the door without knocking. A blast of demonic chakra nearly threw me to my feet as it rushed towards to kill me. Reflexively, I flipped backwards to buy myself some time.

"Kami's Breath no Jutsu!" I muttered as my hands flew through the seals within seconds. A roar of wind swept up around me just in time to block the wave of sand that slammed around my miniature hurricane.

Only one person could control sand so utterly. Sabaku no Gaara. A tendril of fear began to curl in my stomach, gripping my insides with an icy hand. I could only hope that the Kazekage could convince him to cease his assault before I became mincemeat.

Swtiching to one-handed seals to sustain my waning wind walls, I readied a sharp blade of chakra around my other hand. When I felt that my battered defenses would collapse any moment, I reversed the spin of the winds close to my right foot. The change sent me shooting out of my failing fortress like a cannonball. Closing my eyes, I flung my chakra blade with all my might, praying for some strange reason that Gaara would only be surprised enough to ease his attacks, rather than be injured.

The weak fizzle of my chakra signaled the failure of my attack. I readied myself for the onslaught of sand.

"Cease, Gaara. She is no enemy."

The grains of sand on my skin struggled to rebel against the order, but then very reluctantly retreated. Spitefully, many of the grains scraped against my skin hard enough to leave red marks. Then slowly, the sandstorm around me cleared to reveal the Kazekage, as well as Team Gaara, peering at me.

"You are?" the Kazekage finally inquired. I rose to my feet.

"Shinrino Asahi, Kazekage-sama. I bring a summary of recent mission reports from Daisuke-san downstairs." He opend his palm towards me, gesturing for me to place it into his hand. Braving the stony gazes of the elite genins in front of his desk, I delivered the scroll as directed. The Kazekage hardly glanced at the scroll before returning his attention to me. Light prickles of sweat rose on my brow; perhaps I made too impressive a showing for a genin? I allowed myself to fidget under his perusal.

"It was quite rude of you to enter without knocking, Shinrino-chan. You startled Gaara here." The Kazekage's voice sounded strange. My name dripped from his lips like month-old blood and I fought down a shudder. I remember him to be a taciturn and moody person, with an eternal frown etched on his face. Yet, this Kazekage was almost playful, like a slippery snake toying with its prey before it dealt the killing strike. I produced no outside reaction, painfully aware that the Kazekage was watching me with disturbing intensity, as if he wanted to gauge the reaction I did not show. Temari, however, frowned, perturbed by the shift of personality in her father. The Kazekage caught her slight show of confusion, for he shot the unknowing blonde a sharp, wary glare.

"Don't do that again...you may loose your life next time. Hm...Shinrino Asahi, correct? Are you not the Ronin Nin?" My eyes flashed before I wrestled them back to their stony state.

"Yes, sir."

"Tell me, why are you called such?" He **is** playing with me! I did not please him with another reaction to his verbal prodding of such a sensitive subject.

"I lost my team, Kazekage-sama, on a mis-assigned mission. There are no openings on the other genin teams so I train with whichever teams that are not on a mission." Asahi wanted to hurt this horrid man, but Ino remained in control, icily meeting the Kazekage's eyes.

"Were there survivors?" he pressed, ignoring my attempts to direct the conversation otherwise.

"Yes," I gritted out. He waited, but I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to give him more than what he asked for.

"Oh? How many? Who?"

"One, Shiro Matsumaru."

"Why don't you train with him?"

"Because he is crippled." I could not keep my face from falling as I said this and apleased smile curved the Kazekage's lips.

"How sad," the Kazekage murmured, not sounding very sorry at all. Quite fed up with his prying inquiries, I opened my mouth to ask him for dismissal when he surprised even me with his next question.

"Would you like a new genin team?"

I stared at him, before finally stuttering out a protest.

"But Kazekage-sama, there are no--" The playful light in his beady eyes faded, turning into something that chilled me even more than Gaara's disinterested gaze.

"I asked you a question," the Kazekage said quietly. "I suggest you answer it."

"...yes, sir. I would very much like a new Genin team." A sickeningly wide smile crossed this Kazekage's face.

"Good. Gaara, meet your new teammate, Shinrino-chan." Sabaku no Gaara's pale green eyes widened comically. The Kazekage continued before any one of us could protest.

"Temari darling, you will be staying here during the Chuunin exam. Since I am going to judge the competition, I need someone competent to run things back in Sunagakure. Shinrino-chan here will take your place." Temari was speechless with angered shock and finally, she just mutely nodded her head, breaking away from the cold gaze of her father.

"Very good, very good," the Kazekage said with a strange chuckle that sound something like 'kukuku'. "You may leave, Team Gaara. I supposed you need to train to get acquainted with your new teammate. Temari, you will stay with me to discuss some things."

And like that, I found myself on Team Gaara, being guided out by Kankorou's large hand at my elbow. Gaara spared us no glance as he led the way. Fortunately, I had no more appointments with other ninjas to train. This new evolvement would surely consume my entire afternoon. Then, through we held no reluctance to leave, my sharp ears caught some very strange words as we left.

"Kukuku...Shinrino-chan is very interesting, don't you think, Temari darling?"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000

We walked to town in heavy silence, Kankorou's hand never leaving my arm. I think he was worried about his violent silbling's reaction. After all, I did attempt to attack him in our recent altercation. Few can stand up to our resident demon and live.

But I held no fear for Sabaku no Gaara anymore. In face, I no longer harbored fear of my death now. My brush with death had opened my eyes to the true visage of it - Sabaku no Gaara is of no resemblence. Granted, this strange boy still made me uncomfortable, but for the first time, I could draw my eyes away from watching for danger in his every movement. What I saw saddened me. As we walked through the village, the people that had always been so kind to me transformed into snarling beasts. It hurt, even if their hostility towards me was born purely due to my proximity to my new teammate. If he grew up with this kind of fate, it is no wonder that Sabaku no Gaara was so withdrawn, so angry, so unbalanced. He was surrounded by hate.

Yet he still walked with his back tall and straight, proud and disdainful like a deity who traveled among mere mortals. I admired that. When everyone in his life told him he was worthless, he could still determine his own value.

The subject of my thoughts must have felt the change in my opinion of him, for he halted abruptly and turned to face me. Kankorou's fingers tightened painfully as he attempted to draw me back away from his brother. A vein of sand curled around my other arm and pulled me to a stop. His unblinking green orbs drilled into mine.

"You..." he hissed. I refrained from blinking; our battle of wills played out in a staring contest. "What is your name? Perhaps you will tell the truth this time?"

"...I am Shinrino Asahi, as you heard me introduce myself as such," I answered uncertainly. Did he know? Or was he simply refering to the other night? My eyes began to water from being open so long. Then finally, Gaara looked away, again utterly disinterested. He made a neutral sound and returned to leading us through town to Team Gaara's meeting place. I avoided Kankorou's questioning eyes as I shrugged off his hand, for I was just as confused as he was.

Sabaku no Gaara led us to what turned out to be the mission center. At first, I thought that perhaps their jounin sensei was waiting for them there. Kankorou noticed me looking around and shook his head.

"We have no sensei," he explained. I could not keep the surprised expression off my face. "No one dares to teach us." A pointed look towards Gaara clarified everything. The only reason Temari and Kankorou were placed in a genin cell with Gaara was solely because they were the only two that he would not kill on the slightest provocation. They were not even really a team, but the cluster of leftovers, the Kazekage's unwanted children, each one too flawed in some way to be good enough in their father's eyes.

"But you're the elite t--" Kankorou smiled bitterly.

"No, all we've accomplished was learned through purely trial and error. There is no one to teach Gaara how to control his demon; Temari and I only had the basic training in our specialties before we were tossed out to the mission center." He stopped, taking the scroll the clerical Chuunin handed him. After scanning it quickly, he gave it to Gaara. Kankorou, too, avoided direct contact as he deposited it into Gaara's hand. He waited nervously until Gaara had added several yards distance between us before speaking again.

"Team Gaara was just assigned to a special mission when you came in. We were ordered to aid in the attack on Konoha."

0000000000000000000000000000000000


	6. Scroll 5

00000000000000000000000000000000

Going Against the Grain

0000000000000000000000000000000000

By Airyo

Scroll 5

000000000000000000000

"We were ordered to aid in the attack on Konoha..."

My world tilted sideways. Kankorou's words echoed through my mind, bouncing around in my head like a wayward ball that I couldn't quite grasp.

"We're attacking Konoha...?" I managed in a small voice. Kankorou looked at me strangely, having misinterpreted my reaction to the news.

"Of course. It's about time, if I do say so myself. Relations with the Leaf have been dwindling to the last line...hey, you alright? You look really pale." I nodded, forcing away the urge to heave.

"Yeah, I just suddenly feel really sick...it must have been something I ate," I mumbled absently, running on Asahi autopilot. Inside, my mind raced furiously, still not quite able to process what the hell was going on. I had needed to be on a team that attending the Chuunin exam...but not like this.

"I...think I'm going to head back home for today. I'll meet you guys tomorrow for practice and whatever..."

"Oh, okay, That encounter probably took a lot out of you today. We meet at Training Lot 12, 8 am. Don't be late," Kankorou told me.

"Yeah," I replied, still in a daze. I waved and walked away. "I'll see you later."

Damn...damn...DAMN!!!

How did I not know of this? Attack on Konoha?! This should have been whispered about in Suna for months! What the hell did I do wrong?! I have all the major rooms bugged and rolling with the best possible mix of technology and ninjutus. There was NO way that something this big should have slipped by me.

Unless...they know I'm here.

They could have planned everything in another secretive place, with the knowledge that someone was here to spy. It wasn't impossible, but I felt like hurting something badly, namely myself. This was the exact kind of shit that I was sent here for in the first place. And at very first true sign of war, I fail Konoha. Complete, utter failure.

I managed to reach my dorm without any suspicious outward show of emotion, even though I felt like tearing something apart and screaming until my voice broke. It was as if the news had broken a dam of emotion that had been building pressure ever since that...C-rank incident. With barely shaking hands, I unlock my door.

"You're running away."

I gasped and whirled around. No one. The hairs on my neck begin to stand up and I turned back around and looked up. Gaara's green gaze met mine.

"No, I'm not," I reply, my voice sounding girlishly petulant. "I don't feel well."

A pulse of demon chakra made my knees tremble.

"I'm not...afraid of you," I challenged him, even though my voice wavered like a leaf in a storm. I kept my eye contact with him, using what I hoped was my sternest glare. The redhead bared his teeth into a parody of smug smile, conveying his doubts about my claims.

"You should be," he warned. With a swirl of sand, he disappeared.

"If you value your life," his voice continued. With a squeak, I turned to realize that he had reappeared behind me.

"After all...I know your secret." A cold feeling sunk down to the bottom of my stomach. His grimace of a smile had turned predatory, like a cat that knew exactly how to find the mouse...and catch it.

I managed to not loose it right there and then, and instead, shot him a nasty glare.

"Which secret? Everyone has their little secrets," I sniffed. Don't worry, I coached myself as I reminded my lungs to breath. He probably only thought that I was some slacker Genin who secretly trained at night to surpass others without seemingly breaking a sweat.

"I saw you meet up with that ANBU."

My heart beat an odd rhythm, and it had nothing to do with affection.

"Yeah..." I replied with a nonchalant sigh. "You found me out." That gleeful expression on his face disappeared for a moment. Then it returned with an even greater force.

"I don't mean** that**," he drawled. He's speaking more words to me than he's ever uttered to anyone...and he had yet to mention his purpose to kill. The realization hit me like a hard punch to the stomach. That sick bastard was actually having fun **playing** with me.

"Then what the hell do you mean?" I spat. I gave up on my wavering facade of ignorance, challenging him with a full-on glare. His next expression terrified me more that any other.

Forget having fun – he was _delighted_.

"Everyone has their little secrets...and you're mine."

And then he was simply gone, his glee still lingering in the air. It was warm afternoon, but I felt cold...colder than I have been for a long time.

0000000000000000000000000

It wasn't until the next day that I found out why Gaara (and the Kazekage for that matter) behaved so strangely.

"You know...He mentioned you yesterday before your 'entrance'," Temari was saying as I ran though some warm-up katas. Since she was the one who was supposed to be training, her schedule was free for the time. The other blonde decided it was good idea to see how good her replacement was. Gaara was absent, but that was normal according to his brother. My head fuzzy due to a sleepless night mulling over the war, I didn't manage to process her words until several moments later.

"What?!" I cried, snapping my head towards where she sat under an overhand. She didn't seem to notice my delay.

"Yeah. The Kazekage asked for the usual report, and Gaara actually said something," she continued. "He mentioned one thing: the morning sun." I felt my eyes widen at this bit of knowledge. Temari nodded at my reaction.

"He could have meant a variety of things, but I only know one shinobi in our village who carries that name." Temari gave me a pointed look. Asahi, the morning sun.

That was me.

"Then..." I licked my cracked lips and continued, "then, what happened?" She shrugged.

"Kankorou and I told the Kazekage as much. We're not supposed to keep things from our Kazekage – he doesn't appreciate it. Although...I wonder why you are so special..." Neither of us spoke after that. I didn't trust myself to open my mouth at this point, and the other blond probably felt like she spoke too much.

"Whatever it is about you, be careful. Kazekage-sama's been acting strangely recently and he's taken notice in you," Temari finally commented as she got to her feet to leave. She sounded as she was was talking about the weather.

"Thank you," I replied with a small smile. She nodded slightly and left without another word. Temari had no business of any kind to justify a concern for my wellbeing. In fact, she had every right to desire my downfall. That she warned me at all was above and beyond the protocol of a Sand kunoichi.

0000000000000000000000000

So I trained with Kankorou. Gaara showed up, but he did little to no training. Most of the time, when he wasn't threatening to killed Kankorou, he just stared at me, a smug little glint in his stupid beady little eyes.

"_Everyone has their little secrets...and you're mine._"

What the hell did he mean by that? I'm his little secret? Gross. He made it sound like some sort of secret affair. He certainly seemed to hint at it with the way he stared.

One day, completely fed up with his ubiquitous eyes on the back of my head, I decided to retaliate.

And smiled at him.

The grin I sent his way was no ordinary smile. There not a single ounce of malice in that smile. Oh no, I powered that thing with 130 pure sweetness, in the way only girls seemed to be able to make their smiles. Complete with fluttery eyelashes.

The result was beyond satisfying.

He choked, blinked, coughed, and then flushed red all in the same moment. Then Gaara disappeared with a swirl with sand. Kankorou was convinced that I was one dead girl.

I just smiled ever so sweetly.

My theory had been right – so few people showed Gaara a positive gesture that the very parody of one made him squirm. It was sad. But Gaara wasn't one to submit to defeat so quickly, and a few days later, he was back with a challenging glare. Thus started our little game.

This trend of staring and smiling continued for the rest of the summer. It became a sort of a contest. Who could out-freak who? Who had the lower tolerance for discomfort? Gaara's staring versus my smiles. I once lasted an entire hour without retaliation, whilst his longest was only 30 minutes (my cheeks hurt that day after smiling so much). But he'd stopped skipping team practices and I had stopped feeling so uncomfortable under his perusal. Sometimes, I wondered what he'll do if I hugged him.

Eventually, we were given a few C and B-rank missions in the few weeks leading up to the Chuunin exam. It was only to solidify the teamwork, as well as further establish the fact that we are a legitimate team. Each mission was ridiculously easy with our combined skills, even though Gaara did most of the work.

Gaara served as the distraction while Kankorou and I snuck in and took care of the actual mission. We had absolutely no major injuries, and Gaara never had a single scratch on him. As much as Kankorou obviously feared Gaara, their teamwork was practically flawless, if only due to the fact that Kankorou obeyed Gaara's every order.

Only briefly, did I wonder how my teamwork with Yorokobi, Tsuru and Matsumaru might have turned out. I had set aside my multiple character roles, now that most of the people who would be suspicious are dead, and solely concentrated on improving Asahi. It was less confusing, but every now and then I would be reminded of those lighthearted days with my original Genin team...I try to not to dwell on it too much.

It was difficult, functioning as a part of Gaara's team, mentally, physically, and emotionally. But time still flew by, and before I knew it, the Chuunin exams were upon us.

So was the impending attack on Konoha.

0000000000000000

A week later after we left Suna, we arrived at the Konoha gates early morning. The Chuunin exam was set for tomorrow. After checking in with the guards, Team Gaara was told that we were free to explore...within reason, of course.

Not 10 minutes into our new freedom, a kid runs into Kankorou.

Poor puppeteer, who had been in a sour mood all day after Gaara threatened to mutilate him in 5 different (and rather creative, I must add) ways, was not happy.

"That hurt, you little piece of shit," Kankorou growled as he hefted the kid up by his collar. A blond kid in an eye-blinding orange suit ran up.

"Konohamaru!" he yelled, his whisker marks stretching across his face. I recognized him immediately, as I always remember the people that I use my family Mind jutsus on.

It was Naruto, the Kyuubi container. He looked underfed – what is it with Jinchuuriki and looking so undernourished? Gaara was the same way, though he covered it better...

The pink-haired girl behind him seemed even worse off. Her hair covered her forehead, and even then, it was apparent that her forehead was abnormally large, and she kept her eyes on the ground. The brief moment that she glanced up, I caught a flash of brilliant green eyes.

I remember her too.

Haruno Sakura, the crybaby from the pre-Academy classes for kunoichi. I felt a twinge of regret...I had wanted to help her so badly, anything to get that miserable expression off her face. She was a Haruno, and I had admired her for the Haruno trait of a split personality. I had tried to scare off her bullies, but I couldn't always be by her side without seeming like a complete stalker since I wasn't her friend. Too bad before I found a way to talk to her, I was called out on my mission.

Wait...did he say "Konohamaru"? As in the Sandaime's grandson? Crap, I'll get yelled at for letting the brat get hurt.

"Don't," I warned my teammate. "We'll get yelled at later." Naruto interrupted me before I go on to convince Kankorou to stop being such an ass.

"Hey fatass!!! Let go of him!!!" I blinked...Naruto was really, really loud for a Jinchuuriki.

"Let's play a little before the Boss gets here," Kankorou suggested with a grin. I gave him a disgusted glare. Kankorou hates feeling so weak in comparison to his little brother, so he often took it out on other Genin. Thankfully, for his own health, he respected my assignment to the team enough not to pull this kind of crap on me.

"Bastard!!!" Naruto charged straight for us. Was this kid stupid? You never charge in headfirst without analyzing your enemy...never! Kankorou grinned sadistically and flicked his fingers. I felt the hum a chakra string whip out and attach to Naruto's feet. He tripped and fell with a spectacular tumble.

Idiot...

"Leaf Genin," Kankorou commented with a sneer, "are weak."

"Let go of me," Konohamaru gritted out. Kankorou was hurting the kid. I gave him another warning glance, but he ignored me.

"Hey! YOU FAT PIG!!!! If you don't let him go, I'll MAKE YOU PAY!!! FATASS! IDIOT!!!" Naruto screamed his challenge. I twitched at the 'fat pig' comment even though it wasn't directed at me. My real name meant 'Pig'...of all things. I was still a little sore about that.

Sakura flared up for a moment and she grabbed Naruto back by the throat with surprising force. Huh, so Inner Sakura had spirit. I bet if Sakura let me fix her up a little, she could make a pretty cute girlfriend for some lucky guy.

"Hey, you are annoying," the puppeteer told the Konoha Genin. I rolled my eyes. He ignored my insistent jabs at his ribs, along with my warning glares. Stupid men, and their stupid ego trips. Kankorou thought he looked pretty cool being so strong – he looked like a jackass.

"Basically, I hate midgets...especially younger ones that are rude to me...makes me want to kill them," he drawled, raising his free hand and making a fist.

Shit!!!! He really was going to injure Konohamaru and I can't blow my cover as a Sand nin. My opinion of Kankorou dropped in the negatives and I gave him one last evil glare.

"Oh well," I said as nonchalantly as I could. "I'm not an accomplice in this mess."

Get the hint already, Kankorou-baka! We're the foreign-nin here. If we cause any undue trouble, the Kazekage will be displeased.

Not to mention my Hokage, the Sandaime. Which reminded me, Kankorou needed to let go of his little grudge and stop wasting time. I needed to meet with the Sandaime as soon as possible to relay the plans of an attack.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Naruto was screaming in the background. Geez, he's so loud. It's not helping matters with my teammate when he makes such a big deal of things. Kankorou made as if he was going to punch Konohamaru. I moved to intercept him. Joke as it was, this was going too far.

I blinked and then suddenly, the Kankorou had dropped Konohamaru. A small rock clattered to the ground and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you bastards doing in our village?" came a smooth voice from overhead. I looked to the person who had such good timing.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura could be heard whispering with admiration.

Raven locks framing dark deep eyes...oooh...this Sasuke-kun was a grade-A cutie...

"Gah, another guy who pisses me off," Kankorou muttered as he gingerly rotated his wrist. Sasuke had nailed him right on a rather painful pressure point. He's good.

"Get lost," Sasuke told us with an arrogant glare. His attitude was starting to grate a little on my nerves – it reminded me all too closely of Matsumaru's character, which was one person I did NOT want to think about. Kankorou apparently agreed with me.

"Hey punk," he challenged. "Get down here! I hate show-offs like you the most." He started to unwrap Karasu.

"You're even going to use Karasu?!" I asked with disbelief.

This was starting to get out of hand. I realize that we were instructed to behave like normal Genin when we could have easily been instated as acting Chuunin, but this was ridiculous. Gaara better get here and put an end to it.

"Kankorou. Stop it."

I was slightly proud that I was the only one who didn't jump at the sound of Gaara's harsh voice. Even Sasuke, apparently one of the stronger Genins, flinched.

"You're an embarrassment to our village."

...why was Gaara standing upside-down on the tree branch of all places...?

For a moment, I thought he looked kind of cool...

I shook my head, blinking rapidly. Show-off. He looks stupid hanging there upside down...like a little red monkey. Gaara continued his little tirade.

"Loosing yourself in a fight, how pathetic...why do you think we came to the Leaf Village?"

"Hey listen Gaara...they started it," Kankorou tried to explain.

"Shut up. I'll kill you," Gaara snapped.

"I'm sorry...I'm really sorry...sorry," Kankorou babbled, cracking under the pressure of his own fear. I kind of felt sorry for the poor guy – it was his little brother that reduced him to a blubbering mess.

"Sorry to you guys," he said. With a small hurricane of sand, he teleported himself to ground beside Kankorou and me.

"We didn't come here to play. Let's go," he commanded and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura called. She ducked back nervously when Gaara paused and stared at her questionally.

"What?"

"You're...you're shinobi of the Sand and allies of the village...but you're forbidden to enter without permission. Why are you here?" she blurted out. Gaara shot me a glance and I stepped forward to explain, extending out my Sand pass.

"So clueless...we are indeed shinobi of the Sand. We're here to take the Chuunin exam." Judging by the blank look on their faces, they had no idea what I was talking away. The stupid look on Naruto's face made me want to punch him for no reason. I settled for a small sneer instead.

"Geez, you really don't know anything...the Chuunin exam is an exam held twice a year for outstanding Genin of all countries to try to become Chuunin. All the countries gather for one exam to improve the relationships between--"

"Hey Konohamaru! Think I should this Chuunin exam thingy?!" Naruto interrupted, turning to Konohamaru excitedly. My left eye twitched...idiot...

"Hey you," Sasuke abruptly asked, leaping to the ground in front o me. "What's your name?"

"Me...?" I blushed at the attention.

"No," he said flatly. "You with the gourd." Bastard...that attitude of his is exactly like Matsumaru's...

Gaara studied him for a long moment before deeming him worthy of an answer.

"Sabaku no Gaara. I am also interested in your name."

"Uchiha Sasuke." Then they just stood there glaring at each other for several seconds. I think Gaara just found a new rival, but I didn't think much on , still sore that Sasuke just blew me off like that.

"Hey! What about me? Huh?!" Naruto interrupted.

"Not interested," Gaara said flatly and turned. "Let's go."

I sympathized briefly with my fellow reject blond, and then turned to follow, relieved the little fiasco was over with.

000000000000000000000000000

Eventually, Team Gaara made its way over to our living accommodations for the duration of the exam. Thankfully, I got my own room.

"I'm going to sleep for a few hours. Don't disturb me," I told Baki and Kankorou as I headed upstairs. It had been a long night crossing the cold desert, so they accepted my excuse. Gaara was present, and I knew that he didn't buy my alibi for a single second, but I had figured out a long time ago that he wasn't planning on revealing my true identity. For some reason, he seemed to enjoy the idea that he was withholding essential information from his village.

After locking my room and putting out a little "Do Not Disturb on Pain of Death" sign on the door, I faced the mirror and quickly dug out the enormous make-up kit buried deep in my luggage. The kit was a birthday present from my family here in Konoha. Disguised as just an over-elaborate make-up kit, it actually contained a hidden compartment that held the means for basically any disguise I needed for any occasion.

For example, for my urgent meeting with the Sandaime.

I slipped out the housing building, and with the experience of always sneaking around in Sand to listen in on meetings, easily exited Konoha walls unnoticed.

Now it was time to transform myself into a messenger from the Grass Country. The Grass leader had given his consent for me to impersonate a nin from his village, thus giving my latest character role an alibi should anyone become too nosey.

First came the eyes. I usually wore purple contacts, so I could get away with my own blue eyes. I flipped through the different ranges of eyeshadow, finally settling a smoky eye that make me look older, and thus, more viable as the bearer of an urgent message that required the Hokage's immediate attention.

Next, I removed the large scroll tucked away in the hidden compartment. I rolled it open to the section labeled "Grass Nin" and performed the necessary seals. With a soft poof, a Grass Nin jounin outfit appeared in my hands. After quickly pulling on the beige robes and jounin vest, I opened to another section labeled "Wigs". Rather than go directly to the opposite hair color, I chose a light brown wig cut below chin level. I brushed out the tangled strands and then spritzed it with some hair spray. Satisfied with how real it appeared, I then piled my long blond hair into a low bun and clipped the hairpiece in place. I shook my head, making the corkscrew curls bounce around. Not a strand of fake hair out of place.

Then, I put on the signature straw hat to top it all off. I threw myself around on the terrain to ensure that I looked like I had rushed here. A streak of dirt here, a rip there...good, this will suffice considering how short my time way. I absolutely had to make sure the Sandaime heard my message before dusk.

I approached the main gates of Konoha for the second time today.

"Halt! State your purpose!"

I looked at the two Chuunin in the booth with a desperate expression on my face.

"Hana Midori, from the Grass. I have an urgent message for the Hokage!" To further emphasize the urgency of it all, I fell to my knees, appearing to be on the verge of collapse after my mad dash here. A shaky hand extended the fake pass that my Eagle ANBU had given me a good year ago.

After checking that my pass was genuine, the Chuunin nodded. One of them got up and started running towards Hokage Tower.

"Right this way, Hana-san."

0000000000000000000000000


	7. Scroll 6

000000000000000

Going Against the Grain

000000000000000

By Airyo

Scroll 6

0000000000000000000000000

We barged into the Hokage tower, gaining the attention of everyone there. The Chuunin who had guided me here took my pass and showed it to the secretary at the desk. The Grass leader's seal was real. She knocked on the Hokage's door.

"Enter." I pushed past the secretary, giving her an apologetic look before shutting the door.

"Ah, Hana-san," the Sandaime greeted. He gestured for me to sit down.

The Sandaime Hokage looked old and tired. He had been forced out of retirement for too long and I wondered why no one in the village seemed to notice this when I could tell within 30 seconds of seeing him. Unfortunately, my opinion was of no importance – my information was.

"Hokage-sama, I bring urgent news. Is the premises secure?" I slipped into the role of Yamanaka Ino, no longer a flippant little girl. He seemed surprised at how serious I was, but he performed a few seals and then nodded his head.

"An attack is planned during the Chuunin exam, most likely the 3rd test," I stated bluntly. The Hokage's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded, allowing no room for misinterpretation.

"The Genin team that I came here with is ordered to aid in the attack during tournament. Sabaku no Gaara will release the Shukaku if needed. There are further, but unconfirmed details regarding the attack." Sandaime stood, chakra flashing at his fingers. Several ANBU appeared by him. He quickly jotted a note on a scroll.

"Call a meeting with all department captains in one hour. I need their _immediate_ response," he commanded. All but one ANBU made copies of the scroll and left with a poof of smoke. The remaining ANBU wore the familiar Eagle mask and I almost smiled. I acknowledged him with a slight incline of my head, and he returned the gesture.

"Eagle will escort you to Interrogation for the mind transfer. How much longer can you stay away from your Sand duties?" The Sandaime returned to his seat, looking much more worn than several minutes before. I almost felt guilty for dropping such a bomb on him.

"A few more hours – Asahi is currently taking a nap and has warned her teammates away from disturbing her." The Hokage nodded.

"Good, that will be enough. Thank you." I recognized the dismissal and let myself out of his office. The secretary smiled at me and I smiled back tiredly.

Eagle was waiting for me by the back entrance. He led me to a relatively nondescript building behind the Hokage Tower. We entered to a long hall with sharp twists and turns. Walking left and right and seemingly turning back in loops. Any other person would have gotten lost with minutes. However, my mind automatically drew up a blueprint of the building, complete with a small compass at the corner. I was technically part of the Intelligence section of ANBU, but probably to ensure the lack of incriminating images, Eagle was taking me on the extended version of the way to the ANBU interrogation room.

Finally, he opened a nondescript door into a nondescript room. I only looked at him strangely when he stepped in with me and closed the door behind.

"Ah..." he muttered uncomfortably. Then he shook his head of whatever doubts he had and took off his mask.

My mouth fell open.

The blue eyes and the blond hair and the quirk to the left corner of the mouth when curved in a smile...all identical to my own. There was no mistaking who he was.

"D-Dad..." My bottom lip trembled and I could speak no further words. For the first time in a while, I couldn't stop the tears welling up in my eyes. It was Dad! My dad!

He smiled, with that familiar quirk to the left side of his lips, and then opened his arms.

I ran into them so hard he wheezed.

"Ino," he coughed. "It's not nice to kill family that you haven't seen in years."

I buried my face into his ANBU vest, inhaling the scent of dirt and Konoha and fatherly security. My shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"I saw you just 5 months ago," I muttered into his cloths. I felt him sigh and wrap his arms around me tighter.

"Oh my little girl...** just **5 months? That is still too long considering what can happen in a second."

And all my worries and fears and doubts could take the back burner because Dad was here to scare them away and make everything okay.

After my tears had finally stopped, Dad let me go and looked at my face, complete with puffy eyes, snotty nose, and tear tracks all over.

"You've grown into a beautiful young lady," he praised. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm 12, Dad. Don't be silly," I snorted. "And you saw me five months ago." He sighed, a pitiful expression appearing on his face.

"You're just like your mother – so cruel to a good man like me," Dad said dramatically as he clasped his chest. I laughed at his antics. Then I remembered something and my laughter faded into silence.

"Mother...Mom...how is she?" I whispered. I haven't seen Mom in seven years. All I could remember of her was her warm hold and feeling safe and loved. We were strangers linked by blurry memory. Dad grimaced.

"Your Mom's been worried sick about you for the past 7 years. When you find time, disguise yourself and stop by the Yamanaka Flower shop. Tell her that you're looking for forget-me-nots. She'll ask you if it's for a friend. Just say it's for you, to remind you of a memory. Mom will know it's you."

"How...how will I know who to ask?" Dad gave me a hard look.

"You'll know, Ino," he told me. "She is your mother, after all." I nodded, slightly cowed by my first scolding. Dad drew back into his ANBU mode and replaced him mask. The sight of the expressionless Eagle mask reminded me that I was on a mission.

"I will be doing your Mindwalk," Dad told me. We both settled ourselves in the chairs so neither of us would fall out during the process.

"You can start."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Still woozy from being the recipient of such an extensive mindwalk, I dragged myself through the window of the foreign ninja dorms.

"Have a nice nap?" someone sneered. I looked up to meet pale, green eyes.

Gaara. He was sitting on my bed, sand spilled all over the place. The sand on the floor shifted irritably, brushing against my arms and legs so hard that they left red marks.

"How long have you been here?" I asked quietly. He looked to the floor.

"Ever since you left." Miniature sandstorms swirled at knee-height, signifying his annoyance.

I bit my lips, steeled my courage and walked to sit on the bed with him. His thin shoulders tensed like that of a wild animal, as if it took everything in him to remain there defiantly and not run.

"Sabaku no Gaara," I said softly. "Thank you for waiting for me." He stared at me with feral eyes.

"'Thank you'?," he mocked. "You should be begging for your life. I know information that will lead to your delightfully painful execution."

"So you want me gone?" I asked. If I had long guessed correctly, Gaara saw me, my secret, as a sort of defiance against the iron grip of the Sand village. Something of his own to keep when nothing else could be called his. He wouldn't give me away so quickly.

At least, I fervently hoped that was the case.

"Yes."

I had apparently guessed wrong. A chill ran down my spine at his answer and I edged away from him, as if running away would do anything for me. Personally, I would be safe since I was already in my home village, but the with the connection to information gone, Konoha would be left in a tight corner with few options.

"But I will be the one to kill you," he finished with bared teeth. I think he might have been smiling, but it was hard to tell with Gaara at times.

"…thank you," I told him, gripping the covers hard. My knuckles were white from the strain of keeping myself calm despite the close call. That was as good as a guarantee I would get from Gaara that he would not give away my secret for the time being. Every bit of logic in me screamed at me for trusting in so shaky a promise…but somehow, I trusted him.

"Hm," he said. Then he disappeared in a swirl of sand before I could say another thing. I breathed a sigh a relief when the overwhelming pressure of his bloodlust eased from the room.

0000000000000000000

On the day of Chuunin exam, the weather was disgustingly perfect. Some of the Genin were actually smiling as they walked into the building. I wasn't too surprised when they fell for the blatant genjutsu on the door. Gaara seemed to be under the same impression as me, even though nothing in his actual expression changed.

So we got to the exam room with no problems. Gaara eyed the doorway with especial interest, for him anyways, as if he were waiting for someone. His piqued interest seemed to make Kankoro more nervous, though the puppeteer hid it well.

"A bunch of losers," Kankoro commented with confidence. He really was confident in his abilities, just not so sure of his capabilities with the dangerous presence of his little brother.

"Mmm. We'll have to try our best anyways." I neglected to give a solid answer on that. The way the Sound Genin were eyeing us made me uncomfortable. If their abilities were truly sound based, I had no doubt that they could probably hear everything people were saying. Our mission was to make it into the final round, not stroke our own egos.

Kankoro gave me a strange look, but didn't comment on it. Our small exchange was interrupted when Naruto's shrill voice rang out like a foghorn.

"MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO, AND I WON'T LOOSE TO YOU BASTARDS!!!! YOU GOT THAT??!?!?"

…that moron….he just drew all attention to himself with two sentences. Out of the corner of my eyes, I watched the Sound team move in, apparently taking offense to what Naruto said. They attacked, and the white haired guy managed to dodge the assault. But then for some reason, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, vomiting out the contents of his stomach. Even though the attack didn't actually hit him.

How scary.

The other Leaf genin gathered around him worriedly and the scene disappeared from view. I didn't bother to try and seen more of the little squabble. It was almost test time and even though our mission had nothing to do with actually passing the genin exam, it was still my first time taking this notorious exam.

"Quiet down, you worthless bastards!" A large cloud of smoke appeared towards the front of the room. Morino Ibiki and a large crowd of chuunin were revealed after the cloud dissipated. I knew Morino-san from before my long-term mission began, as he was the head of my department. I remember his horrifying scars, and his distinct fondness for playing mind games. The man was a master of manipulation.

That explained the paper test, of all things.

I listened his rules carefully. Then at first glance at the test, I was mildly intimidated by how difficult the questions were. Chuunin were able to do these kinds of calculations in their heads?! I could barely remember the right formulae, never mind propose three alternate solutions on the fly…wait, this was Morino-san, after all. The purpose of this exercise was to cheat. Just not be caught.

…That would mean there are plants in this classroom who would know the real answers. Perfect.

Grains of sand grazed along my forearm. Looks like Gaara had figured it out too, considering the evil eye he was giving me. I nodded minutely before returning my eyes to my paper. The grains of sand stayed, persistently rubbing my skin raw. I flicked them off and looked Gaara right in the eye.

'_I. Got. This._' I mouthed out. At the end, I added a huge, sweet smile. That ought to drive the point home. His sand stilled, but remained by my arm.

I though I heard the nervous clatter of Kankoro's puppet, so Gaara had probably moved his dark perusal elsewhere. Good, that meant that Kankoro's occupied. The simplest way would be for me to Mindwalk someone and copy their answers, but I'll have to be careful, because if Kankoro notices me acting strangely, I'm screwed.

In the act of false frustration, I put my head on the table. It's been around 15 minutes; the plants in our group should have at least finished the first few problems. It was weird to the do seals in broad daylight, but slipping into the mind of the nin diagonally behind me to the left was all too easy.

It took me a grand total of 10 more minutes to finish the test, most of it waiting for that chuunin to actually finish taking the test for me. The rest of the time I spent pretending that I had no clue what I was doing.

The last few minutes before the end of the 1st part, however, Gaara's sand refused to leave my arm. Apparently, I was a little too good at pretending my ignorance, given by the glares he kept shooting me. When I remained unphased by Gaara's dirty looks, Kankoro received the larger brunt of them.

"Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom," he declared, popping up like a jack-in-a-box. Unsurprisingly, they even handcuffed him. These may be a bunch of genins, but nonetheless, the future generation of the hidden villages sat in these seats.

"We will have to follow you." Kankoro complied easily and allowed himself to be led out. I glanced at the clock, noticing that there was only 7 minutes left. Did he have enough time to get all the answers from Karasu _and _come back to write them all down? The rasping sound of sand against paper drew my eye downwards. Only years of playing nonchalance stifled the shriek that shook my throat.

There was a sand eyeball starting at me!!!

Stilling my erratic heartbeat took some effort, and when I was finally sure that my eyes weren't spasming with exasperation, I turned towards the culprit and gave him a uber sweet smile. Then I blew him a kiss and mouthed 'love ya too!'.

Haha, that'll teach the little busybody. I may not be a special Jinchuuriki chok-full of endless evil energy and demon-brand love, but I wasn't incompetent. I really, really, _really_, wanted to see what him face looked like at the moment. I looked that clock again – 4 minutes left. Where was Kankoro?! Everything will go down to the drain if our team failed in the first test. Although, secretly, I mostly hoped we did fail. That way I could take my time and help prepare Konoha for the battle to come.

Three minutes left. I had time to at least check on Gaara's face.

A quick seal, and I took over the person sitting next to Gaara. It was that Sasuke kid again. There was an unusual amount of hate in him, and I made a quick note to keeping an eye on him.

And speaking of eyes…

I glimpsed Gaara's red hair, careful to keep my face behind that rather moody hand position that Sasuke's memories revealed he seemed to like. Gaara's eyes were bulged out like the throat of an indignant bullfrog, and the color wasn't too far off either. His unusually stilled gaze was locked on the profile of Asahi.

Did I go a little too far this time?

Oh no. I broke Sabaku no Gaara.

"Ok, now, we will begin the 10th question." Without even trying to ease the transition for Sasuke, I hightailed it out of his mind and back to my body. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the poor boy rubbing his head with a grimace. He'll still probably be feeling it tomorrow. Wincing, I made an additional addendum to my mental notes to also help him out on the second test should he run in any trouble. If his team failed because of me and couldn't become Chuunin, that'll be on my hands.

Thoughts racing, I straightened, ready for the next challenge. Kankoro still wasn't back – I'll have to pretend to stall somehow. Just as I prepared myself to make a fool of myself, the door opened and Kankoro returned with Karasu still in disguise.

"Nice timing," Ibiki chuckled. "Was your doll playing beneficial?"

Kankoro you idiot! Gaara and Kankoro seemed to share my sentiments, given by the wince on Kankoro's face and the very noticeable rasp of sand snaking towards Kankoro's legs. Or maybe Gaara's ire was why Kankoro was wincing.

"Just sit down," Ibiki snapped. A collective sigh breathed through everyone in the room when Gaara's building demon energy faded.

"These are the rules of desperation. For the 10th question, you must choose whether you will take it or not."

Choose?! Morino-san! What are you up to? The murmur of unease roiled through the room like the stench of a rotten egg, acrid and overwhelming.

"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero, and you will fail. Along with your 2 teammates."

"What?! Of course we will choose to take it!" Some of the rowdier students began to protest such an insulting rule. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on Morino-san's face. He was a little too smug for it to be over. There was more, and given by the very sadistic glint in his eyes, it will be devastating.

"But if you choose to take it, and answer incorrectly, that person will the lose the right to take the Chuunin exam ever again." The murmurs came to an abrupt stop as everyone processed his words with a sinking feeling.

Genin for life.

I wanted to stand up and applaud Morino-san. As the head of intelligence department of ANBU, he was my role model. Only a true master could so effectively lead an entire room of ninja through such emotional turmoil. Instead, I hid the smile quirking at the edge of lips with a parody of the horrified expressions everyone else had on their face.

The protests came back with a vengeance. A dog boy (Kiba, I think his name was) even screamed Morino-san due to the unfairness of his rules.

"You guys were unlucky," he snapped back relentlessly. "This is my rules." His hard mouth moved slightly. Wow, there was more to come? Was there no end to this man's sadism? If I was wasn't looking down, I might be danger of being found out since I'm pretty sure my eyes sparkling like a fangirl's.

"But I am going to give you a way out. You can choose not to the take it, and try again next year."

The nervous energy in the room had escalated to nearly unbearable levels. Even the few grains of sand near my arm were now restless.

"Now, let's begin. Those of you who do not want to take it, raise your hands."

Everyone looked around the room, very quickly sinking into a mob mentality. Once one person raised this hand, they'll be dropping out like flies.

"I-I WON'T TAKE IT!!!" I jumped at the sudden declaration of the person next to me. I leaned to see his expression, regret marring his face as he apologized to his teammates for his weakness.

"Ow!" Gaara's sand scraped against my skin painfully, leaving red welts. Beads of blood even dotted some of the lacerations. I shot him a glare, too annoyed to muster any sort of smile. He glared, and shook his head to make his message all too clear.

'Do not back out – I will kill you.'

Rolling my eyes, I nodded and sat back into my seat, careful not to make any more movements that could be mistaken as a motion to quit. Unlike these kids, I was confident that I could take whatever Morino-san threw at me. For me, there was no room for this thing called "failure".

"Number 130, fail! Number 111, fail! Number 50, fail!"

I scanned the room. The room had already emptied significantly. If this keeps up, we might even need the second test and end up going straight to the tournament to exhibit our skills.

To my surprise, a few rows away, Naruto was even slowly raising him hand.

NO!

I was even surprised myself on how vehemently I rejected the notion of Naruto daring to give up. When I had mindwalked him at the age of 5, the most striking thing had been his unyielding spirit. Yondaime had chosen well for someone like Naruto to bear the burden of the Kyuubi. But if this tiny little test was enough to beat down the vessel, the future of Konoha looked bleak indeed.

My hands locked into the right hand seals without my noticing, and I propelled myself into Naruto's mind.

'_I'm so dumb. What if I fail? I'll never become the Hokage. Sakura and Sasuke will also fail…they'll hate me even more! I…I don't know what to do…What to do? What…there's only one thing to do.'_

He raised his hand.

'_NARUTO! DON'T YOU RUN AWAY, YOU DUMBASS!!!!!' _I screamed at him as I forced his hand back down. He couldn't hear me, but I could still control his actions.

"DON'T ESTIMATE ME! I WILL NOT RUN!!!!" Naruto's vehement statement shocked me enough that I returned to my body. Great, now two genins from Konoha will have massive headaches because of my shoddy jutsu work.

"I'll take it! Even if I stay a genin my whole life, I'll will myself to become Hokage!!! I'm not afraid!!!"

The effect of his statement was mind-blowing. Within the space of a sentence, the fear had dissipated, and overtaken by the determination of the remaining genin.

"I will ask you again. You life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit."

Morino-san, too, noticed the fading power of his perfect setup. But it was already too late, Naruto, the idiot, had defeated Morino-san's entire test with a few words.

What a guy.

"I follow my unbending words," Naruto barked. "That's my ninja way."

I watched with admiration as Morino-san nodded with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Good decisions. Now, everyone still in this room, I congratulate you on passing the 1st test!"

I didn't even bother to listen to the rest of explanation. I was bursting to tell someone of my pride. Seeing another chance to annoy him, I leaned over towards Gaara on the end of the row.

"Naruto-kun, what a guy, huh?" I whispered appreciatively, making sure to keep a wide smile on my face. "I've heard that Ibiki was a mastermind in playing mind games, and Naruto-kun defeated him with just a few words." Not to mention as a vessel who suffered so much hate like Gaara, Naruto-kun remained bright and determined. This kid was no ordinary person, and enormity of his spirit hit me once again. The pride of a fellow comrade from Konoha was impossible to hide from my tone. A small part of me even considered adding Naruto to my list of heroes, right up there with Morino Ibiki himself.

"I dislike him," Gaara snarled with unusual venom. I blinked and looked at him curiously.

"What's your problem, Gaara?" He glared at me, and I could hear the sand swirling in his gourd with atypical agitation.

"If you have a problem with me, then why don't you go and talk it out with your 'Naruto-kun'?"

Eh?

Before I had more time to think on Gaara's incredibly odd behavior, a dark figure crashed into the room, complete with a banner telling us what exactly was next.

"You guys, this is no time to be celebrating! I am the examiner for the 2nd test!"

0000000000000

A.N. Woot! I finally finish another chapter. So, so sorry for the incredible delay in updating. Honestly, I've lost interest for a while, but after some very heartwarming reviews (and a few new of chapter of the Naruto manga), I'm back on track!!!! Love to hear back from everyone on the progression of Gaara and Ino's relationship, because as ninja-fied as they are….they are 12 year olds. I highly doubt that they'll burst out suddenly declaring their undying love for each other. Arg.

Anyways, happy belated new years, (and early Chinese new years!)


	8. Scroll 7

000000000000

Going Against the Grain

00000000000

By Airyo

Scroll 7

0000000000000

The Forest of Death.

I gulped. I could see why it would be called such. The size of those trees could not be normal, and if mere plants were mutated to this degree…a shudder ran through my spine at the thought of the size of the animals roaming in these. Enormous…tigers….with…enormous…teeth…

I couldn't suppress a squeak at the image that forced itself into my mind. Hardened member of the Konoha ANBU I may be…but tigers scared the crap out of me.

"Welcome to the stage for the second test - you'll soon know why it's called 'the Forest of Death'," Anko drawled.

"That doesn't scare me!" Naruto immediately challenged with strident tones. A kunai whipping past him cut off further protest. I watched in horror as a line of deep crimson seeped into view on Naruto's cheek.

"Kids like you are quickly killed…hehehehe," Anko chuckled, suddenly behind him. She licked the blood trickling down his face. "Spraying that red blood that I love so much."

My fingers twitched, itching to slap her away from that chokehold she had on Naruto. Instead, I jumped when more of Gaara's sand scrapped against the tender skin on the inside of my arm. With a huff, I brushed off those irritating grains of sand. How many times today did he already completely destroy my skin?! As an intelligence ninja, I already had a hard enough time trying to maintain a generally scar-free visage for future undercover missions. This guy seemed to be trying mark me as nothing more than a simple little kunoichi! If I wasn't sure that sand couldn't feel, I'd think he was trying to secretly gain human conta—

My eyes narrowed.

"Gaara," I hissed. "Can your sand _feel_?"

The grains of sand on my arm disappeared so quickly it took me a few seconds to register their absence on my skin. Looks like I was dead on. Torn between amusement and annoyance, I gave a huff of a chuckle and crossed my arms smugly.

"Who knew Gaara's sand had this capability?" He gave me a silencing glare, though it was ruined by the hint of a nervous tick at where his left eyebrow should be. Gleefully, I danced circles in my head, thanking Kami-sama for all those years of experience reading the stony faces of ninja with something to hide.

"What capability?" he finally shot back tersely. I couldn't help the genuine lopsided smirk that crept across my face. Sabaku no Gaara had led himself straight into this one.

"To feel, of course!" I powered my grin to 150% Asahi sugary sweetness and while he was distracted by the utter wrongness of my fangirl smile, reached for him with arms wide open. "If you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask, Gaaaaraaaaa-kuuuun!"

The poor boy. He jerked away from me as if I'd just suggested he insert his hand into a meat-grinder. I pretended to look hurt, all the while cackling inwardly at the absurd sight of Asahi nearly molesting the feared Jinchuuriki of Suna.

Once sure that he was quite thoroughly traumatized on a whole different level, I drew back the monstrous inner fangirl and turned my attention back to Anko, Naruto, and some Grass nin. My brief high from my victory quickly deflated from disgust at the sight of the Grass nin's horribly long tongue. I don't remember Grass nin being that creepy. The Kusakage certainly wasn't that creepy.

"But you know, don't sneak up on me unless you want to die." Erase what I thought earlier! This Anko person was even creepier – the two of them are like greasy serpents surrounded by cute, delicious little mice (namely the rest of us).

"No…I just get excited when I see red blood. Plus you cut my precious hair…"

"Hehe, there seems to be a lot of bloodthirsty ones this exam."

Shaking my head, I waited for her to get around to actually explaining our test. Fortunately, my wish came to be very quickly.

"Now, before we start the 2nd test, I have something to pass out. Agreement forms," she declared, pulling out a large stack of papers that I had no idea how she had hidden on her person.

"A release form so I won't be responsible for any deaths that occur," the snake lady explained with a wide smile that was too genuine to be comfortable. Honestly, what was Hokage-sama thinking assigning all these creepy people as examiners? Was this some twisted show of power to the other villages?

"Basically, this is a no rules scroll battle. Half of the teams will receive the Earth scroll, and the other half receives the Heaven scroll. To pass this test, you will need to reach the tower in the middle arena 44 with both scrolls. But, there is also a time limit. You have 120 hours, exactly 5 days to reach the command tower."

I nodded. I had done some research on past Chuunin exams, and this was a reasonable mission to ask of us. As long as they weren't planting higher-level ninja in the same area to fight us off, I didn't see too much of a problem.

"You will be disqualified if you don't complete the mission, loose a teammate, or open the scrolls. Chuunin are expected to deal with classified information, and this is also a test of your trustworthiness."

I glanced towards Kankoro and Gaara – they seemed to be equally calm on the topic. We could easily hide the scroll with Gaara, since nobody could even get near the guy. With Kankoro's exceptional puppeteer skills and my own eclectic abilities added to the mix, we were as good as the first team to reach the tower. I felt a little like we were cheating, since all three of us had long surpassed genin level with all the chuunin missions the village thrust on us without even a jounin leader. Baki was only assigned to us temporarily to give us a semblance of a normal genin team.

So the part of reaching the finals was never really the main worry – the huge ambush on Konoha via Jinchuuriki was slightly more distracting. Considering that the Kazekage probably doesn't even expect any of us to survive the attack. I grimaced. That Kazekage was one cold icicle. He was willing to sacrifice his own children. The only reason he kept Temari was probably due to her bloodline, so he could marry her off for future deals.

Just the thought of such a strong kunoichi used as a mere broodmare made my blood pressure skyrocket and I gritted my teeth.

"We're next," Gaara said. Still fuming, I silently followed him and Kankoro into the booth. After we signed the forms, Gaara took the Earth scroll and put it in his pocket without so much a glance at me nor Kankoro. I snickered inwardly. He must still be sore about reacting to my almost hug so violently.

"Everyone. Follow an instructor to a gate. The test begins in 30 minutes."

0000000000

The three of us sat in complete silence while waiting for the gates to open. Gaara pretended I didn't exist and instead concentrated his gaze on Kankoro, which the puppeteer clearly did not enjoy. As for me? I just ignored both of them, trying to think of a way to insure Team 7's safety. If any of those three died because of my stupid little mindwalkings…erg, I had more than enough blood on my hands.

"You have 5 minutes," the instructor wheezed out nervously. Seems like he's never been in such close proximity to a Jinchuuriki, given his signs of unusual discomfort. He had more to say, but Gaara simply looked at him and the mouse of a guy shut up rapidly.

I returned to my thoughts. The best way to go about this was to convince Gaara and Kankoro to finish this as quickly as possible, while immediately taking out any foreign teams that we even sense. Gaara's bloodlust was easy enough to arouse on that case, and Kankoro's reluctance to be around Gaara any more than necessary would be useful. Clear the path for Konoha genin, and once we reach the tower, I can fake an injury and slip off and join the ranks of ANBU. The thought excited me more than it should have. The secret knowledge that I was ANBU was a thing of pride that I could never quite suppress. I was eager to serve my village after bringing such valuable knowledge to the Hokage.

The gate clicked out. Adrenaline poured into my veins.

"Let's go," I cheered. "Let's finish this in an hour!"

Although our mission as Suna's genin team was simply to pass, they never said anything against performing well. Nevertheless, Gaara and Kankoro both spared me a strange look, but we hurtled past the gates at top speed in a perfect triangle formation. I couldn't help but be a little proud of my Sand genin team.

000000000000000

Barely half an hour into the test, we ran into our first team. There had been several close run-ins with various creatures of the forest, but we all silently agreed not to bother with those since they were irrelevant to the mission. Secretly, I sighed with relief, glad to avoid having to deal with those gigantic tigers that I knew for sure resided in the thickets, just waiting to gobble me up like a choice piece of pork.

But the enemy genin were a different story. Gaara sensed them first, and with a rather unsettling grin, veered off our straight course for the tower to confront them. The other team eventually sensed us, too, and both teams halted a narrow strip of a clearing.

After the dust of movement settled, I could tell from their metallic gear and excess of umbrellas that these were Rain nin, and veterans of the chuunin since they looked to be in their late teens. Looks like the guy with the scar on his eye was the leader, flanked by two smaller (and weirder-looking) genin. Hopefully, they possessed the Heaven scroll.

"Aw look, it's just a bunch of Sand brats – your first exam. How cute." the leader sneered. He scanned us condescendingly, his gaze lingering especially on me. My skin crawled at the feeling of his eyes – it reminded me all too much of the Kazekage perusing me as something delicious and edible. I willed my limbs not to shift and when his eyes finally reached mine, I warned him off with a glare.

"Maybe if you ask nicely, we might let you survive to take the exam again."

"You wish! You just don't want your ass kicked," I snapped, Asahi fully fired up for a fight. The leader was an absolute creep and needed to be erased from this world. Namely by fist of Asahi.

"Shut up, bitch," the leader barked. Then he smirked. "You'll need to save your voice, since we're killing you last. Girls always scream the prettiest when you use them as pincushions and th—"

"Give us your scroll," Gaara cut in quietly. I got the impression that he was livid. That Rain nin had done something to royally irritate him. "Then I will kill you."

I looked at him in surprise. Gaara never bothered to command the enemy to do anything. Usually on mission, he would simply say 'I'll kill you', kill them, and then took what he came for. It was like he was trying to humiliate them first. Gaara, and mental torture? That was a strange combination, although I couldn't say it was bad. But before I could think on the possibilities more, I noticed with a sinking feeling the nearby aura of three Konoha genin…and a dog? Must be one of the Inuzuka clan.

Damn, we need to finish this quickly. Once Gaara got started, he would go on rampages until the bloodlust was satisfied. I might not be able to get them out of here in time.

"Sand brat, challenging us head on like that. How foolish…" the Rain nin leader sneered. Gaara simply cross his arms and looked down his nose at the guy. I was rather impressed how he managed to do so despite his obvious lack of height.

"You'll die."

"Enough talking, old man. Let's do it," Gaara snapped. I could hear his sand whirling in his gourd, eager to take in more blood.

"Gaara! We should get some information first. If we both have the same scroll, then there's no need to fight—" Kankoro began in an attempt at prevented outright slaughter.

"Shut up," Gaara interrupted with a snarl. "That doesn't matter."

I could feel the demonic energy filling my lungs and robbing me even of my ability to breath. Finish this quickly Gaara, and then please stop. Don't go on a rampage.

"Those who meet my eyes…all must die," he concluded with an almost peaceful smile on his face.

Shit.

He always gets that look right before he completely crushed someone to bits. Something about how killing defines his existence. I shifted closer, ready to try and break Gaara back to reality before he does something really catastrophic. I have never seen him get this bloodthirsty this quickly. Kankoro grabbed my elbow and took the wiser path of trying to move the two of us away from the range of destruction. That Rain nin wasn't so smart.

"Bah!" he spat scornfully as he whipped out several umbrellas, spinning them open. "Then let's hurry up and do it! Here I come!" He tossed the still spinning umbrellas into the air.

"Die brat! Raining needles no jutsu!" The umbrellas hung still in the air for a moment, and then spun even faster. This time, they pelted out thousands of needles towards Gaara. Kankoro tensed, ready to deflect any stray needles. Within seconds, the shower of needles ended, leaving a cloud of dust behind. There was no movement where Gaara should be standing.

"There is no escape!" the Rain nin crowed. "My chakra controls where the needles fly! You're done for!"

"Is that it?" came the cool voice of Sabaku no Gaara through the dissipating smog. The air settled to reveal Gaara encased in a round shell of dense sand, peppered so full of needles that the globe resembled a sea urchin. Gaara himself had not moved a single muscle.

"Not…a single one?" The Rain nin was quickly losing his confidence, now that he realized that Gaara had deflected what was probably his crowning attack without a single scratch on himself. With a last-ditch effort, he sent several needles towards the crack in Gaara's sand. A tendril of sand whipped out, blocking every needle. There was no way that this guy could get past Gaara's powerful sand.

"A rain of needles, eh?" Gaara asked flatly, clearly unimpressed with his opponent's skill. "Then I guess I'll make it rain blood."

"Wha…a wall of sand?"

That Rain idiot still didn't get it. Was he aura dense or something – could he not feel that awful roiling aura of the Ichibi demon?

"Yes, a sand-based _total defense_," Kankoro informed them. "Basically, any attacks against Gaara is useless." Run, Kankoro was trying to tell them. Run before he crushes you all to death.

"That's not possible…" the Rain nin fumbled. "My needles can piece 5mm thick steel." With an exasperated sigh, I stepped forward. If he was still too stupid to understand the situation at this point, maybe he shouldn't contributing to the future generation of ninja after all.

"Don't you get it, old man?" I taunted. "You cannot defeat our Gaara."

"SHUT UP, BITCH!!!" Enraged, the idiot launched himself towards Gaara. I watch in slow motion as Gaara gathered his fingers in that final form, sealing the death sentence for this Rain genin.

"Desert coffin," he said in his usual monotone voice. He extended his clawed fingers. Sand hungrily gripped the Rain nin, swirling around him until only the face remained exposed. He was done for.

"I can cover your mouth and kill you, but that would be too pitiful," Gaara explained. He raised his hand, slowly raising the sand cocooning the Rain nin into the air. I saw Gaara reaching for an umbrella and did the same with another leftover umbrella. He was literally going to make it rain blood, apparently.

Then, Gaara closed his hand.

The Desert Graveyard.

Blood rained down in a crimson shower of droplets, dotting the ground with small dark circles. The patter of blood on my umbrella sounded exactly like rain; a soft rhythm on the taut material of the umbrella. I used to like that sound, for it was so rare that it rained in Suna. Now, I'll always have that Rain nin's pained expression in my memory. I'll have to meditate more to filter away the image.

Usually, Gaara wouldn't nearly be so messy, and kept all the blood within the sand to soak it up. I've seen him use Desert Graveyard countless times in front of me in missions, and while he took unnerving pleasure in each killing, he kept it surprisingly tidy. Being crushed to pulp was a little too much for my squeamish side (however small it was) to handle. Despite the lingering smell of blood, not a droplet of blood could be seen afterwards. Because of that, I found that I could stomach working with him on missions if I didn't think too had exactly what was happening inside the sand.

But not this time. This time, for some reason, Gaara really made a show of this Rain nin. If those Konoha genin in the bushes survive to tell the tale, they'll be sure to pass on the message that was all too clear.

Don't piss off Sabaku no Gaara.

Gaara glanced at me, and only then did I realize that my mouth was open in an unconscious expression of horror. I shut my mouth a snap and looked away. Though I had long ago established that Gaara was hardly the scariest monster out there in the world…he was still pretty damn terrifying. For the first time in a long while, I was grateful for where I was. I shuddered at the thought of being at the receiving end of such an attack of the Desert Coffin.

"No suffering…" Gaara muttered sullenly, looking back towards the two remaining Rain nin. "Because I killed him so quickly, he didn't have time to experience it."

Was he comforting them?!

What was he doing? This is the ninja world. There was no room for something like pit…I shook my head fervently.

What was I doing?

I see one little gruesome attack and I get all squeamish and girly on my team. Gritting my teeth, I filtered away these weak thoughts and bolstered myself with the proper mentality of a ninja.

"W-we'll give you the scroll," one of Rain nin stuttered out, crouched in half kneel, half ready-stance to flee. "Please… let us go…"

How weak. Pathetic. I judged them harshly as a kunoichi should.

Gaara raised both him hands and sand snaked around the two Rain nin's struggling forms. This was my teammate, at his best. Asahi should cheer him on.

"Bye bye," I sang with a forced smile, and waved. An almost-smirk stretched Gaara's lips. He closed his hands and the two Rain nin exploded in a shower of red. I didn't wince when still warm blood splattered on my cheek.

"How lucky, it's the Heaven scroll," Kankoro said with a grin as he examined the scroll the once-Rain-nin team had left for us. "Ok, let's head for tower now."

I nodded eagerly with Kankoro's suggestion. I could feel the Konoha genin's aura roiling with panic. They had to get out of here.

"Shut up," Gaara hissed, his monotone voice several octaves deeper. Kankoro and I froze. This was bad.

"I haven't had enough yet," he continued, normally stony eyes feral. His wild eyes were locked on the bright smear of crimson on my cheek. The rest of the blood on the ground had already been absorbed by his sand. I bit my lip, backing away from him. His killing aura, already suffocating as is, had somehow increased a hundred fold. My limbs felt heavy under the pressure.

There was no way those Konoha genin could escape after being exposed to such an aura for the first time. They were as good as dead unless we did something to distract him...

"Let's stop…Gaara," Kankoro pleaded. I think he might have noticed the three innocents hiding in the bushes as well. As big of a jackass he was at time, Kankoro hated unnecessary deaths.

"Are you afraid, coward?" Gaara taunted. The puppeteer gulped, and I could see him fight not to tremble in front of his little brother.

"Gaara," Kankoro began diplomatically, his voice cracking. "You may be alright, but –" here, he glanced at me before throwing a quick glance towards the bushes where the Konoha genin were hiding, "-this is too dangerous for us! We only need one scroll."

"Don't tell me what to do, you piece of trash," Gaara dismissed scornfully. He stepped towards where the Konoha genin were.

"Give it a rest!" Kankoro fought for words as he maneuvered himself between Gaara and the Leaf genin still frozen under Gaara's aura. I've never seen him try to stand up this bravely to Gaara. "Why don't you listen to your big brother for a change?"

"I've never once thought of you guys as my siblings," Gaara snapped coldly. "Get in my way, and I'll kill you." A cold finger drew a line down my spine. He wasn't kidding. Kankoro's courage broke under the force of Gaara's stare and he stepped back. The Jinchuuriki reached towards the bushes.

"Gaara!" I burst out. He turned towards me, though his hand did not move. "Let's stop, alright? Please don't say such cold things." My voice wavered, but I pressed on.

"Please listen to your brother, okay?"

It was the wrong thing to say. At the mention of Kankoro, Gaara turned back to the Konoha genin and tensed his hand, ready to capture them in sand.

"GAARA!" I cried pleadingly.

His hand closed. A frantic sob escaped through my lips.

"Fine."

He turned his hand to reveal the stopper of his guard. With a hard movement, he plugged up his gourd and then walked out of the clearing. I stared after him, still shaking, and my ears ringing with the sudden disappearance of a demon's killing aura.

To think, I tried to hug him just earlier today. I was dancing on the line between life and death, and never realize just how precariously I was balanced there. I forced myself to exhale.

I needed to be more careful from now on. Very very careful.

00000000000000

A.N. Whew! I followed the scene from the manga almost exactly, save for Temari's replacement with Ino and all. I think its loads of fun to twist a scene around to include whatever weird idea I have concocted for that situation. Was looking forward to writing this scene for a while, and weeeee! Write it I did.

The usual what you like, what you don't like and how stuff can be improved will be much appreciated!


	9. Scroll 8

00000000000000

Going Against the Grain

000000000000000

By Airyo

Scroll 8

00000000000000

We traveled the rest of the way to the tower in a stiff triangle formation – Gaara at the point, me behind him to his right, and Kankoro on the other side. After that massacre back in the clearing, Gaara didn't utter a single word. While reclusive and utterly unable to communicate normally, he wasn't taciturn. At the very least, he seemed to take pleasure in threatening Kankoro a rather grisly death every now and then.

But this Gaara was discomforting for me to watch, even from the back as we leapt through the trees. The Forest of Death was quiet, also aware of a greater monster in its midst. I kept my eyes trained forward, as far away as possible from him. The backwash of green only made his red hair stand out all the more, and every time I glimpsed it, I couldn't help but see flashbacks of blood raining down on us in a haunting rhythm.

For the first time in a long while, I feared Sabaku no Gaara. I once said that I have seen death's true visage and Gaara looked nothing like it…too bad I never realized that Gaara had been hiding his own nature. Now, I couldn't look at him without seeing death. Yorokobi-sensei curling around a katana, crimson glinting along the silver blade. Matsumaru in a web of wires, blood languidly dripping down along the thin lines of steel. Tsuru…with her red-soaked tears, clutching her mangled stub of a leg. So much blood – it sickened me.

I looked up to see Gaara glance back at me and I ripped my eyes away from him. My heart shuddered in his presence, and even the power to scream seemed to wither in my throat. I had taken this situation much too lightly, going so far as to _play games_ with a someone who delighted in the same blood that I hated to see. I was the prey in this relationship to his predator . He was the one playing with me. With that final sobering thought, I tucked my misgivings back into some corner of my mind where Ino could guard them. No matter the circumstance, Asahi could not be allowed to compromise my secrets, not if I wanted to live past puberty.

We reached the tower before the second hour even hit the clock. I guess that was one perk of having a Jinchuuriki on the team. Nobody wanted to mess with you. I didn't even have time to break a sweat on this supposedly life-endangering exam. The lower level lobby was empty, save for a script written in what looked like the Hokage's hand.

"If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom and be prepared. If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages…" Kankoro read slowly. There were a few words missing, each where the word for "person" most likely should have been.

"Open the scrolls," Gaara commanded. He removed the Earth scroll from his pocket as Kankoro followed his example and removed the Heaven scroll. It was like some solemn ceremony. They peeled open the scrolls simultaneously to revealed what looked like a summoning script with the character for "person" in the center. Smoke started rising from the paper. Gaara coolly grabbed Kankoro's scroll and tossed both to the ground. With a final poof, the summoning jutsu completed itself, leaving a very confused Chuunin standing before us.

"…con…congratulations?" he finally stuttered out, staring at our clean clothing. He checked his watch, muttering how it was impossible for us to complete the exam in less than two hours.

"We pass," Gaara told the examiner. "Take us to the waiting area."

Flabbergasted that their roles had somehow been switched, the chuunin simply nodded mutely and complied.

000000000000000

Since we were the first ones in, we got our pick of the rooms. Naturally, before Gaara nor Kankoro could calls dibs, I simply slipped into the room with the largest bathroom. They were boys, so didn't bother fighting me for something so seemingly menial. I locked my room door, and then locked myself into the bathroom. I turned the showerhead on, until the cleansing sound of rushing water filled the room, echoing along the tiles until I couldn't even hear myself think.

First in line was to ensure that my explorations went unnoticed by my team. I took out my make-up box and withdrew the large scroll tucked away in the hidden compartment. I unsealed a Konoha chuunin outfit this time.

After dressing myself as a chuunin, I laid out the next piece of my plan. Dad had given me a pair of summoning scrolls for when I need to sneak off to report. I could leave one of the scrolls here and set up a small alarm system that will alert me if anyone comes looking for me. At the first sign of danger, I could immediately trigger the other summoning scroll that I carry with me and transport back in time to escape suspicion. So clever!

Finally came a quick little recording jutsu that he suggested to use. If people heard me singing in the shower, they're most likely not going to try to barge in either.

I took a moment to choose which song I'd like to be heard singing. I quickly decided on one of the most recent hits on Ninja Radio, called "Ninja Machine", and set it to play for an hour straight. It was a surprisingly catchy melody despite the rather solemn message in it. Humming along with my recording, I was just about to slip out the window when a flash of indigo chakra alerted me to the Eagle ANBU's presence.

"Ino."

The Eagle appeared behind me. I whipped around, shocked that my Dad was here of all places.

"Anbu-san! Um…hi…I'm taking a shower…" I played dumb, a little flabbergasted that he'd show up in the bathroom when his daughter was supposedly taking a shower! He shook his head minutely, indicating that this was no time to play. A spark of blue at his fingers told me that he was also sure the area was secure.

"I put a tracking jutsu on the scrolls I gave so I'll know when it's secure to contact you," he explained briskly with a hint of an apology.

"What's wrong?" I asked with only a quick nod to accept. I was now immediately serious, alarmed by his cold, professional manner.

"Orochimaru is here," he summarized flatly. I gasped at the name. Orochimaru, the notorious S-class missing-nin, and one of the legendary Sannin. He used snakes for summons, and even resembled a serpent himself.

"Half an hour into the 2nd test, three bodies of the Grass-nin genin team were found, their faces melted off. Anko recognized the jutsu and went ahead to confront him. He had already marked Uchiha with the curse seal, and demands that we continue the exam. Anko was rendered nearly unconscious by the curse seal when the Bear and I found her."

He paused for a moment to allow me to process the implications. Mind racing for any sort of connection, I flipped through all the years of information I'd gathered at the Sand. Finally, mouth so dry that my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, I breathed the words no one wanted to hear.

"It is entirely possible that Orochimaru has dealings with the Kazekage. The Kazekage has been acting much more confident these past months, and dealings with the Sound village has increased dramatically from what I could gather."

The Eagle sagged at my affirmation.

"I'll start going through your mindwalk records again for details. The Hokage will be arriving within a ten minutes, so be ready with meet with him. I suggest changing into ANBU for this and preparing several mindwalks for details."

I nodded. The Eagle exited with nary a sign of movement, and his sudden absence sent the bathroom steam swirling around me. I sank to my knees on the ground.

Dad had mentioned that Orochimaru had successfully marked Sasuke, the only Uchiha. If I hadn't been playing stupid games with Gaara, maybe this wouldn't have happened at all. Maybe Sasuke's senses then would be just sharp enough to avoid this mess. I knew what the curse seal meant – everyone in ANBU was well advised on the situation surrounding one of Konoha's most notorious missing-nin. A 1/10 chance in survival, and even then, if the victim of the curse seal survived, their mind could easily be swayed by the seal's influence. In other words, ANBU were instructed to treat anyone with an active curse seal as a class-A potential threat. Jiraiya himself had sealed Anko's seal, and even then only after she'd proven herself stable was she thus allowed to function as a normal special jounin. But even then, I wouldn't put it past ANBU to have someone still frequently checking up on her.

I couldn't help but think that all this was in part my fault. I hadn't kept a good enough watch on the Kazekage's political dealings, and now all the Hokage got was a last minute warning on an impending full-scale assault on the village. I couldn't keep my own personal curiosity at bay, and caused potentially distracting headaches that might have impeded Sasuke enough to get him cursed sealed by Orochimaru himself. And now Orochimaru himself was in Konoha, possibly even working together with the Kazekage to bring the Leaf down.

Gritting my teeth, I slowly changed out of my original disguise and resealed it back into the scroll. In a scroll separate from all the others was my precious ANBU uniform, complete with a bird of prey mask similar to my dad's. Pulling on the sleek outfit was like boiling my own foot, excruciating and sickening. I didn't deserve to wear this, despite all my stupid pride over "earning" this.

Then I put on my mask, and any personal thoughts I allowed myself disappeared behind the cool porcelain. I am ANBU, the Falcon.

And I had a mission to carry out.

0000000000000000

Because of the delay to change and wait for a good time to slip out the window, I was the last one to arrive at the meeting. The Hokage-sama was waiting with a small group, which included all three examiners and several ANBU captains.

"I'm sorry for my tardiness, Hokage-sama," I said respectfully, making my presence obvious as a sign of respect (startling a ninja was never a good idea). Though no one actually turned their head to look at me, I'm sure that I was already being analyzed inside and out by the group. My unusually weaker chakra signature was probably puzzling for them. While I was only upper-chuunin in direct combat, my skills at going unnoticed were nearly unparalleled after so many years of cultivating them under a do-or-die mindset.

"Eagle updated you on the situation with Sasuke?" Hokage inquired after every one of us made sure the room was secure as possible. I nodded in agreement.

"Could we ask you to allow Eagle a quick mindwalk? We have suspicion that Orochimaru has allied himself with Suna through another village." I immediately sat down in the nearest chain and readied myself. Just as swiftly, Eagle readied himself. I breathed in--

Accustomed to the disorienting feeling of someone pushing aside control of my body, I was ready to lead Dad to the organized area of all the memories of the Kazekage's office. This was also an important side of meditation, so information as needed could be pulled out efficiently. Having an outsider watch was also enormously helpful in extracting essential details that were easily missed. We watched the memories, and I pointed out things that I had noted in my reports.

By the time I exhaled, Dad had finished.

"Sound," he immediately declared. "Sound is also in this, most likely under Orochimaru himself. It's a new village and all the other kage-level charkas match." Hokage nodded gravely at the additional burden, while a dark look passed over the examiners' faces.

"Their best time to attack will be during the finals, when all the foreign guests are present – multiple birds with a one stone," Ibiki muttered darkly. "We have a month then, to prepare ourselves and try to protect an entire stadium full of civilians as well as Konoha. Hokage-sama…are you sure that we cannot halt this exam?" The Hokage shook his head, a small but heavy action.

"Unfortunately, Konoha is caught in a political and martial bind. Our only advantage may be to proceed as if we are ignorant. And Sound and Sand will not hurt the dignitaries, as they are an essential source of income to the survival of any village." Ibiki accepted the Hokage's order silently, but a shadowed frown had cast itself over his face. I had no doubt that behind my mask, my own expression held something quite similar.

It was sobering thought, that in a month, there was the possibility that Konoha would no longer be standing.

0000000000000

We continued to hash out protocol for the next month, confirming each step with the knowledge that I had dedicated my life to, as well as Ibiki's own wealth of intelligence. Time passed too quickly, and only when one of my alarms informed me of an intruder, did I realize that Asahi had been in the showers for over 2 hours.

"I need to go!" was I could get out before I triggered the summoning scroll's counterpart. I returned just in time to strip and throw on a bath towel before Kankoro burst into the bathroom.

"Asahi! Dammit, did you drown yourself or something…" he trailed off once he took in what I was (or more accurately…wasn't) wearing. I looked down, noticing with dawning horror that my fingertips weren't wrinkled from the water, and my hair wasn't wet. I needed to distract Kankoro and get him out of here like _now_.

First, I dropped my towel. Second, I started shrieking like a banshee. Third, I grabbed my enormous shampoo bottle and hit him in the face repeatedly.

When Kankoro had retreated sufficiently out the door, I slammed said door in his face, all the while still screaming nonsensical threats. Towards the end, I must admit, I began to get really creative. I won't relist them all, but my favorite one was probably the threat where I told I would tie him to one of the Suna windmills by his nosehairs after convincing Gaara to Desert Coffin his sensitive parts.

Hopefully, that was enough of a bitchy tantrum to insure that he didn't notice anything suspicious. I showered quickly to cover my bases and then began soaking my hands and feet in warm water. I'll have to buy time to get them a little pruney, but hurt female pride was enough of an excuse for now. Maybe I'll have to play the PMS card as well.

With a small sigh of relief, I slouched against the bathroom wall. After all the near-heart attacks living as a spy, I'm so retiring at age 20.

Eventually, Asahi only agreed to leave the bathroom after Kankoro apologized through the door and Baki admonished her for putting so much weight on something so unimportant.

"You are a kunoichi, Shinrino. Your body was never yours to cherish," he said harshly. I snorted silently, already well aware of the fact. My female body was yet another tool in the toolbox. I didn't take such good care of myself for the hope of hooking some guy. No, as a member of the intelligence department of ANBU, I have to be able to fit into any role, be it a pampered princess or a scarred old granny. Fake scars were easy with a little makeup, but smooth skin was prized among spies because scars and calluses were the biggest giveaway to a ninja.

For those who fought as their specialty, scars were like a fashion statement, and extremes were respected. It was the exact opposite for us spies. The more average we were, the better. Sure, there some who specialized in one role due to their exceptional looks, but for the most part, the goal was to be as ordinary as possible. Although Asahi was flamboyant, it was normal for a girl her age to be much more concerned with looks and social status than her own training. It was also normal for her to bury her pain rather than face it, as I did by training so extensively. I was a weak, forgettable little girl. My precarious position at Suna was like a constant game of hide-and-seek to maintain that reputation. If need be after this attack and I return to Suna as Asahi, I would mostly likely have to focus even more on frivolous things.

When I finally did leave the bathroom, Baki called a group meeting. It was only to eat dinner together at the dining area, as we had to project a cohesive front like a normal genin team, although I thought the gesture was a little meaningless when we finished a five-day test in less than two hours.

To say that dinner was uncomfortable would have been generous.

Kankoro couldn't look at me without blushing, after which he would immediately recall my vivid threats and then grimace with fear. Every time he repeated that pattern, Gaara would look over and then death-glare the poor puppeteer into a sniveling pile of ashes. And then because of Gaara's roiling aura, I would be reminded of the massacre just earlier today, and falter. My odd movement would then draw Gaara's gaze, I would squeak in fear, and Kankoro would look over as well…only to the start the whole horrible cycle all over again. Baki just ignored us.

Finally, Kankoro cracked and escaped to his room, muttering something about cleaning his puppet. Baki methodically finished his own dinner only minutes after. As he rose, I eagerly tried to follow, but he halted me with a hand on a shoulder. His one visible eye landed on a Konoha genin team that only recently arrived at the tower. I recognized one of them, a blond with glasses.

"For your lack of professionalism, you can insure that _he_ behaves himself for the next few days," Baki ordered before exiting. Gaara clearly heard the exchange, but made no show of what he thought of me being assigned as his babysitter, for lack of a better term. He continued to systematically part his rice and eel, so that each bite was uniform, down to the proportion of eel to rice. Gaara chewed each mouthful slowly and meticulously, with an intense look of concentration as if he was trying to analyze the flavor and texture of his food down to the very molecular level. Every two bites, he would then take a small sip of miso soup.

This was an oddity, however, to even see Gaara eating at all. Normally he refused to even touch food, and only if his stomach started protested too loudly, did he take a few bites of a ration bar. Otherwise I've never seen him eat. Secretly, I was impressed how clean he was about the whole process, given how most boys his age inhaled their food like vacuum cleaners. Though he smelled like a slaughterhouse and issued death threats with every other breath, Gaara carried himself in a dignified manner. The mental image of Gaara snarfing food made me giggle a little.

The giggle died in my throat when Gaara paused with his soup halfway to his mouth and looked at me. When his gaze didn't waver for several moments, I began to fidget uncomfortably, again all too aware of exactly who and what he was. Blinking slowly, he returned to sipping his soup. Then he set the bowl down with a clank.

"Naruto is a Jinchuuriki – why don't you fear him?" he demanded with a soft hiss. I jumped at the sudden sound of his voice, but didn't answer. Firstly, he knew Naruto was the Kyuubi vessel?! Secondly, why in the world was he still pissed off over Naruto-kun?

"Jinchuuriki's normally can recognize their own," Gaara explained as if reading my mind, "although I doubt that Naruto has even that much capability."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped back, indignant in defense of Naruto who I knew had suffered through a lot to get to where he was since Kyuubi offered no help whatsoever. "And I though you wanted me to fear you. Why would Naruto-kun h—"

Gaara glared at me, and I shut my mouth, reluctant to piss him off after such a show just earlier today.

"Forget it," he snarled after a pause of silence. He left with a swirl of sand, leaving the table for me to clean up. I sat there in shock, trying to puzzle out what in the world (other than a very bad-tempered demon) was running through Gaara's mind.

0000000000000000


	10. Scroll 9

00000000000000

Going Against the Grain

000000000000000

By Airyo

Scroll 9

00000000000000

Dad later passed on the Hokage-sama's order for the next four days. As usual, I was to maintain my identity as Shinrino Asahi, and keep an eye out for as much relevant information as possible. What wasn't so normal was the specific order to learn as much as I could about Suna's secret weapon, Sabaku no Gaara. From Ino's standpoint, my assignment as Gaara's "babysitter" was a godsend as it gave her an excuse to tag along with the subject himself. From the more personally involved Asahi's standpoint, however, the universe just seemed to hate her. Gaara was already well aware of exactly who I am, and while I had nothing to coerce him with, he had my very life in the center of his thin hand.

Currently, said pivot point of nearly all my worries sat sulking in the corner of the waiting area common room, shooting me death glares every few minutes. I sat on a one-seater across from him, trying to paste a smile on my face despite my very justified fears. Dropping my eyes to my hands, and I slowly breathed in and out, counting to 5 in my head with each shift of breath.

1…2…3…4…5

I filled my chest with new air, holding it like a large ball in my abdomen.

"_But I will be the one to kill you,_" the memory of Gaara whispered in my ear. I shuddered, and every wall I had just tried to build around my fears crumbled in a heartbeat. I stopped counting and hissed out the air was suddenly suffocating me in my own body.

1…2…3…4…5

Steadily, I blew out all the air in my lungs in a gradual stream.

I can do this. Naruto-kun had an even stronger demon sealed inside him, and I don't fear him. Why should I fear Gaara, when he was simply starved of normal human interaction? He doesn't know how _not_ to scare people. As someone who had mindwalked Naruto-kun as a child, I knew better than 99 percent of the population the hardships a Junchuuriki faced.

"Is it because that Fox smiles?"

"Huh?" was all I could say in response. Gaara narrowed his piercing eyes in concentration.

"Naruto," he finally prompted. "Is it because he disarms you with a smile?"

I stared at the redhead in a mild disbelief, utterly at a loss on how to answer this question. It almost sounded like Gaara was trying to be like Naruto-kun! It must be the fact that Naruto-kun is fellow Jinchuuriki, so Gaara knew that he had suffered much of the same pain, and yet the blond acted so happy all the time.

"Well," I replied slowly, trying to find a way to sum up Naruto-kun's incredible spirit. "Partly yes, it is the smile. It's a sign of how he's irrepressible, how he'll never give up and keeping living his best. I admire him for that strength." Gaara nodded at my answer, face blank of any reaction. I licked my lips and went out on a limb, as one couldn't help but make comparisons sometimes.

"You know…" I admitted said softly, "you have a strength a bit like that, too."

Dead silence answered me. I looked up to see Gaara's bland expression frozen on his face. Several minutes passed before his eyes refocused back on me. His features were twisted a haunted look that scared me, more than any snarling sneer or smirk he wore when threatening my death.

"I do?" he finally asked.

"You're alive, aren't you?" He seemed to begin accepting my answer, and I offered him a small smile, probably the most genuine one I'd ever shown him. He stared at me for moment, and then the walls abruptly slammed down in his eyes. I recognized the sudden roiling aura of the Shukaku.

"It's not hard when Mother gives me an absolute defense," Gaara said coldly. Then he disappeared in a small hurricane of sand. I had to pretend that I wasn't a little hurt by his violent rejection of my tentatively extended hand of friendship.

0000000000000

Given the disaster that was an attempt at a team dinner, Baki wisely decided not to try to push the dynamics of our team when he was in actuality the outsider. So without our team dinners, I didn't see Gaara at all until the preliminaries three days later.

In the dead time before that, I tried to milk Baki for more information, under the guise of an over-eager soldier of the Sand. When that didn't work, I simply stalked his mind when he slept. Since he was a higher-level jounin, I didn't dare try to penetrate his mental defenses while he was wide awake. Despite my best efforts, he obviously didn't know much more than I already did. If anything, the Kazekage was a suspicious man, and he often kept his ninjas in the dark with only different pieces of the big picture, and the only copy of that was in his own head. Stealthy I may be, but even I wasn't that dumb to try. The only new bit of information I could present the Hokage-sama was the date of the Kazekage's arrival nearly a month later for the Chuunin exam finals.

When I wasn't brain-stalking Baki, however, I tried to follow up on how Sasuke and Naruto-kun's team was doing. I learned that their team also included that Haruno girl, Sakura. It was a well-balanced team, but even then, the fact that Orochimaru already got to them was worrying. I eventually tracked down Morino-san. He now knew who I was, and told me that Team 7 was still well. Hokage-sama, for all his show of strength, was a still a soft-hearted old grandpa; he'd assigned two ANBU (one sealing specialist and one medic-nin, to be specific) to watch over them and intervene in case of an emergency. It was blatant cheating, of course, but we're ninja, not samurai. And as clearly demonstrated by the 1st test along, cheating well was actually a good thing.

Assuaged by news of Team 7's relative safety, I spent the last few days training by myself, a luxury I hadn't had the time to enjoy much since joining Gaara's team. And before I knew it, the 3rd exam was upon us.

000000000000

We stood before the Hokage in the arena. Only 7 of 27 teams passed this test, which was well than less than half as Anko had predicted. However, I was relieved to see that Naruto-kun's team had made it, although they looked substantially worn.

"Hokage-sama will now explain the 3rd test. Listen carefully," Anko barked. The murmur of voices quickly hushed and all eyes settled on the Sandaime.

"Before I explain more on the 3rd test, there is something I'd like all of you to know, concerning the true reason behind this chuunin exam." The Hokage paused to shift his hat and take a brief draw of his pipe. We all leaned in, hanging on every small movement of this revered man.

"The true reason is that this exam is a replacement for war among the allied countries," he said quietly. The irony of his statement didn't escape me, considering that two of the countries in this very exam were planning on stabbing Konoha in the back within the month.

"Indeed, this exam decides which shinobi can go on to become Chuunin, but this exam is also the stage where each countries' shinobi risk their lives to protect the prestige of their village." The genin around me looked at each other in confusion, and the single-minded determination from before had dissipated to a mess of unfocused energy.

"There will be many influential people watching the 3rd test, and they make up the bulk of our cliental. So if a village makes a strong showing here, they will get more clients, and also in reverse. This exam is for you to show off your strength and represent your village and country." He paused, allowing the genin before him to process his words before continuing.

"This is a life-risking battle, with your dreams and the prestige of you village and country on the line." The stakes had been laid out, and the quicker ones of the group had already begun to regain their hard determination.

"I get it…" Naruto began to say before Gaara interjected.

"I don't care what it is," he said cuttingly. "Just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails." Hokage-sama regarded him carefully, saying nothing of Gaara's rudeness. Coughing interrupted the silence before anyone else could say anything else.

"Hello, I'm the referee for the 3rd exam, Gekkou Hayate," he introduced himself, all the while coughing every other word. Wincing, I wondered if he should even be out of bed, nonetheless refereeing a bunch of rowdy genin in a life-risking battle. Then again, many ninja loved to hide their true strength, so this sickness act could easily be a just that – an act.

"Before the actual 3rd test, we will be holding a preliminary stage to decide who gets to participate in the main event. There are too many people and the finals would take too long for the viewers. So anyone who wants to quit now, raise your hand." I rolled my eyes. With such a weak looking challenge, anyone with a droplet of pride –

"I quit."

I whipped around to stare at the blond kid with glasses. What? He'd finished second only to my team, so they were more than capable. I glanced back at his mysterious teammates, neither of which impressed me in any way. Unless it was a badly balance team like mine, where one enormously powerful shinobi dragged the other two along for the ride. But even that was suspicious. I could have sworn that he wasn't nearly so beaten up when I saw him on the second day, and now, it looked like he might as well have ran back out into the forest and joined Naruto-kun's team on their own little escapade...

"You may leave now, Yukiushi Kabuto. I forgot to tell you, that it is individual battling from here on out, so don't be afraid to retire --"

"Kabuto-san! Why are you quitting? Why?!" Naruto interrupted, stepping out of the block formation to confront Kabuto on his puzzling decision. Gaara, who was placed right next to Kabuto leaned in and gave Naruto a strange look.

"I'm sorry, my body is all beat up, and we have risk our lives at this point…" Kabuto explained to the appalled genin. I frowned. Cowardice as an excuse. That was really cheap.

I was placed behind Kankoro, who was lined behind Gaara. I could have sworn that he exchanged looks with that Sound jounin-sensei. I leaned in towards Kabuto suspiciously.

"…selfish actions," his teammate was hissing at him. "Have you forgotten Orochimaru-sama's orders?" My eyes popped open, not sure if I could trust my ears.

"I'll let you guys handle it. Especially you Yoroi-san. With your ability there should be no problems," Kabuto replied, not a hint of the former timidity in his speech. "This is your chance to show your strength. I know you are frustrated that I have surpassed you."

"Orochimaru's favorite…don't get too confident," Yoroi snapped back.

"I understand, senpai," Kabuto replied with a too-gentle smile. He left the group. I shifted my balance back to stand straight, mind reeling at the conversation I overheard. It was clear, then, that Sound and Sand were working together. Because our team was next to theirs, Kabuto had felt safe to discuss something so sensitive. I need to inform Hokage-sama as soon as possible.

(A.N. Realistically, Ino probably shouldn't be able to here these supposedly secret conversations since the information that Kabuto and Yoroi are shouting out are obviously secret. But since it was presented that way by the mangaka, I figured I should include them regardless. After all, who am I to question realism when the entire manga revolves around a boy who carries a 7-tailed-demon in his stomach? ^_^)

"Sasuke-kun! You…you should quit the exam!" I watched in interest as I watched the shy Sakura confront Sasuke, who was clutching the side of his neck. The seal?

"Please…please quit!" Sakura pleaded with a sob. "I'm afraid…you're in no condition to fight!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed. "Be quiet. Shut up about this mark. I don't care about Chuunin or whatever. I just want to fight strong guys and see if I'm strong. I am an Avenger." I could see Hokage and the other two examiners discussing the situation. Finally, they settled on something and nodded towards Hayate. The third examiner then interrupted further squabbles with his whooping cough.

"So there are 20 participants, so there will be an even match-up. Now, the item that determines your futures." He pointed to the side wall, where a large electronic message board was revealed.

"Now, the first match-up…"

The message board bleeped.

"Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi" flashed across the screen in bold green characters.

The preliminaries had begun.

00000000000000

A.N. Short chapter, yes, but the spring semester just began and I already have hw for three classes and several chapters worth of reading to do. Let's just say it can take me a good two days to read one chapter…cry. Also, for future reference, I won't be actually writing all the fights since I'm keeping the majority of them the same. Instead, Ino will simply be commenting on some key points that drive this particular story and then move on. Happy days to everyone until then!


	11. Scroll 10

000000000000000

Going Against the Grain

0000000000000000

By Airyo

Scroll 10

00000000000000

Sasuke looked like he was hurting something bad. He favored his left side blatantly, and he hasn't used any of the Uchiha's clan's famous jutsu. Given how his opponent seemed to favor chakra-siphoning techniques, the Uchiha was in for a bad start. Minutes into the fight, he barely managed to escape complete chakra depletion.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara murmured. "Is this it?" He was less than impressed. I looked to the Sound team, not pleased by the smug looks on the sensei's face. He knew about the cursed seal – especially about how it reacted badly to Sasuke's chakra. It was the worse possible match-up. Yoroi himself knew this fact as well, given by the arrogant set of his shoulders. I

I glanced to Sasuke's teammates – poor beaten Sakura (who seemed to have gained a new haircut) watched worriedly and Naruto-kun grasped the railing from the viewing balcony.

"Sasuke! Are you really Uchiha Sasuke?" the blonde belted out. All heads turned to him, including the Uchiha's. "Is that best you can do?"

Kankoro leaned in with interest when Sasuke stood up again on with sheer will as a crutch. A renewed fire had returned to the boy's eyes. There was that Konohan fighting spirit.

Yoroi charged again.

A sickening crack sounded across the stadium. I didn't have to look to know who was on the hurting end of that. I couldn't help the proud smirk on my lips.

"Not enough," I heard Gaara mutter. The smirk froze on my lips as I watched Sasuke hesitate, overtaken by the pain as the seal began to twist and grow like some festering disease. He gripped his shoulder, halting the combo that would end Yoroi.

Then in another flurry of limbs, the two of them landed prostrate on the ground. Neither of them moved. Silence held over the crowd as Hayate approached to check the status of the two genin.

Then slowly, as if he couldn't quite see straight, Sasuke pulled himself to seated position.

Winner: Uchiha Sasuke.

I paid no mind to the cheering, only watching with interest as Sasuke shared a tired but triumphant look with his teammates. Naruto-kun seemed to be doing some odd dance of jealousy/pride/victory. Sakura just looked relieved.

So the Uchiha still had some emotional attachment to the village. That's good.

Then, only as Kakashi lead him away did it hit me what the Uchiha managed to accomplish. He'd stopped the reaction of the curse seal by his own will! That was unheard of, given the information we'd been given at the briefing. I glanced worriedly at Ibiki, but he was also perusing Sasuke with a dark look in his eyes. Sasuke was certainly stubborn, as he had basically won this entire match by sheer will alone.

That was a frightening thought. If this sort of single-minded determination was channeled in a wrong direction…

I bit my lip.

The implications scared me more than I wanted to admit.

00000000000000

**Zaku Abumi vs Aburame Shino**

Aburame Shino easily dominated the next match, as befitting of the Aburame clan. Admittedly, it was a little cruel of him to let Zaku dismember himself like that, but a fine match nonetheless.

I was more interested to notice that Kakashi came back a little shaken some unknown event. Before I could analyze it further, the next match-up was called.

**Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kankuro**

My teammate sauntered downstairs with an unsettling air of confidence, as if he hadn't been a little shriveling ball of fear just minutes ago when Gaara had extended yet another death threat. I didn't know whether to be exasperated or proud at Kankuro's abrupt switch of contenance.

I just sighed as I watched the match unfold.

Having fought by Kankuro's side before, I immediately suspicious when he pulled out Karasu next to him. Already on alert, I didn't gasp when this Tsurugi guy suddenly undulated and his body became like rubber, wrapping himself around Kankuro.

My suspicious were only confirmed when the loud snap of Kankuro's neck echoed across the stadium floor. It was too easy.

"His…neck is broken!" I heard someone mutter with horror. Mentally, I shook my head. This was as much as a battlefield as any other. Only this match had far more implications riding on it just simply the life and death of two ninja.

"Bah…stupid," Gaara whispered besides me. Apparently he had also heard the murmurs of shock at the mere sight of someone's neck being broken.

I couldn't help but chuckle as 'Kankuro' turned his head 180 degrees and address the shocked Tsurugi.

"Then is it my turn now? 3" I shook my head. I could hear the sarcastic heart inserted at the end of that statement. Jackass he may be, but I couldn't knock down on Kankuro's flair for the creepy.

Even Gaara seemed impressed, given by the almost smirk on his lips as Karasu crushed Tsurugi to bits. Kankuro appeared from within Karasu's bandages with a flourish.

Winner: Kankuro.

Although Kankuro's performance seemed to shake the rest of the candidates, I never doubted that one from the start.

000000000000000

I was so engrossed in spectatorship that I was almost surprised when my name flashed across the screen with the pink-haired girl's.

**Haruno Sakura vs. Shrinino Asahi. **

I looked down along the balcony and met the timid eyes of my opponent. There was but an ember of spirit in those green eyes. I thought I saw more but by then, Sakura had already looked down and away.

I frowned as I slowly descended the stairs to the main stadium.

"Good luck," Kankuro said with a grin still riding high on his overwhelming victory. He patted me heartily on the back but I only nodded at him with a slight smile.

The majority of my concentration focused on this trodden down child so similar to another's. Tsuru's face flashed through my mind and I swallowed hard.

I first met Tsuru when I came upon her crying under a tree behind the playground after school. Her hair was a god-awful mess of short curls, and she wore of a hideous set of baggy clothes. Heck, the only reason I knew Tsuru was a 'she' was because I've heard her speak once when sensei had demanded her answer to a question in class. Otherwise, she never spoke.

"Oy, what's wrong?" I asked good-naturedly. I thought the shock of my presence would at least stop her tears enough that she could speak without blubbering. What I hadn't expected was for her to startle so badly that she banged her head against the trunk of the tree and knock herself out.

"Ummmm…" I was at loss as I stared at her slumped form. Should I just leave her here and avoid scaring the poor girl for life…or should I bring her back to my place and wait until she recovered? The notion of bringing her to the nearby infirmary was immediately scratched from my list of options – dragging in a classmate's unconscious body was hardly the best way to start off one's ninja career.

With a sigh, I rolled up my sleeves and proceeded to drag Tsuru's body off to the shadows.

I couldn't help but chuckle at my stupid past-self. At the ripe old age of seven, I was hardly sneaky enough to make away with anything of the sort.

Naturally, I was discovered by who else but the snotty seven-year-old version of Matsumaru.

"What are you doing?" I heard someone ask behind me. I squeaked and tried to unsuccessfully hide Tsuru's limp body behind me.

"Did you kill her?" he asked with a rather bored expression on his face. Even then, he wore that dumb bandanna. I shook my head vigorously.

"Of course not! She just passed out!" Matsumaru's sharp eyes studied the rather large bruise on Tsuru's forehead.

"Okay," he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.

"After you're done with that," he gestured to the body, "wanna have ice cream with me? Dad gave me an extra ticket and it expires today."

The pull of ice cream was too much for my defenses and I agreed. Matsumaru helped me drag Tsuru's surprisingly heavy body to my dorm. Halfway through, she woke up, but then promptly passed out again when she registered me and Matsumaru looking down on her curiously.

After depositing Tsuru on my couch, we immediately ran off for ice cream.

The mint-chocolate chip cone was delicious.

I felt a bitter smirk quirk my lips as I descended the final few steps to the stadium floor. In hindsight, even when I first met Tsuru, I was meant to fail her. The painful memory of running off to have ice cream of all things before tending to her had been a driving point in my self-disgust. I could hardly be called a friend. Sure, Tsuru gained her self-confidence and could always depend on me to sit by her come lunchtime, but who was still walking? And who was laid to rest at the very beginning of a bright ninja career?

I looked to where Sakura and Hayate were waiting for me at the center of the arena. Sakura had opted to jump, whilst I took my time to reminisce. But instead of glaring at me for wasting her time, she looked to the ground as if she had done something wrong to have arrived before I did.

"Took you enough time," muttered Hayate.

"Sorry," I gave him a wide grin that said that I was anything but. He rolled his eyes and raised his hand.

"Begin!"

Sakura peered at me from behind her curtain of hair. I stood facing her, looking at her, but not really seeing her.

Tsuru.

Is this a second chance?

A hint of steel appeared in Sakura's eyes and she began to form the seals for a basic bushin. Three clones appeared and began charging towards me. I could immediately tell that the one on the right was the real Sakura, complete with broken eyes held together by a flicker of spirit.

Tsuru, I won't fail you this time.

I moved to dodge Sakura's rather textbook punch when her bunshins wavered slightly. My eyes widened and I barely managed to evade her attack. Her foot glanced my cheek, sending sparks of pain through the left side of my face.

Fast…

I spun away and landed several feet away, my respect for Sakura rising several notches. My cheek throbbed. She'd just managed to switch her bunshin, shifting the real her to the left, making my movements several feet off. That took perfect chakra control. If I had been any slower, she would have landed a good enough hit to knock me out.

I shook my head, annoyed that I would allow myself to be so unfocused during a fight. What was I thinking?! This wasn't Tsuru at all. Sure, Sakura was similar, but Tsuru and Sakura are different people.

And right now, Sakura was the opponent to be defeated.

Whatever her resemblance to the friend that I killed.

She charged at me again, this time with several kunai at hand. She threw the kunai, missing me by a wide margin.

Then she was behind me, launching more kunai. Classic. She'd switched places with her poorly thrown kunai. I batted them away easily, including the additional ones she threw at me after kiwarimi-ing again, returning to the original point of attack she started with. I simply regarded her with a cool stare.

Clever, but I've wasted enough time with you. You may have fought hard. But I've fought a hell of a lot harder.

Chakra-freeze no jutsu.

With a gasp, she collapsed to the ground, unable to move anything but her eyes. Hayate hurried over to determine her ability to carry on the fight. After several moments, he stood and announced the results.

"Winner: Shinrino A—"

A hand on his boot cut his announcement off. I watched with immense surprise as Sakura shakily dragged herself back onto her feet.

"We're not finished yet," she whispered, eye still downcast.

"I'm impressed," I admitted, returning to face her after shooing Hayate away. "You're the first person to ever break my Chakra-freeze no jutsu so quickly." Sakura didn't reply, but she did drop into a rather shaky ready stance.

I did the same.

Our match was determined in the breath of a moment.

Sakura landed, skidding across the stone like a rag doll.

I landed on my feet.

It wasn't a fair fight to begin with.

"Winner: Shinrino Asahi!"

0000000000

I took my time to climb back up the stairs, dreading the scolding I was going to get for performing so weakly, and most likely shaming the Sand for it. Of all the matches thus far, the result of mine had been the most obvious, yet with my obvious hesitation, my match had also wasted the most time. I'd even let her hit me. I was acting too soft, favoring the Konoha nin too blatantly, and I winced at the memory.

I had just returned to my team when the next pairing flashed across the screen.

**Tenten vs. Shinrino Asahi**

I stared at the names in a moment of disorientation. Didn't I just finish my match?

Kankuro cleared my confusion with a bellow of outrage.

"What is this? She just fought!"

A quiet wave of agitation moved the crowd, as everyone wondered at the possibility of tampering.

I looked across the stadium to see the Hokage speaking with Ibiki. Morino-san shook his head, most likely to the question of outside interference. To my consternation, both the Sound-sensei and Baki-sensei looked unruffled by this odd turn of events.

"This is good, Shinrino-san. It'll be a good chance for you to redeem yourself."

Baki hadn't turned his gaze to me at any point of his statement. Nonetheless, I felt the chill in his words trickle down my spine like icy water. Could they be suspicious of my alliances? I was just an unimportant genin to them!

There was nothing I could do at this point but go along with it, but it must have looked really odd for me to dally during that last match, obviously lost in thought. There was no doubt now – the Sound and Sand had something to do with this odd repetition of candidates. Sure, it wasn't unheard of for a candidate to fight twice given an odd number of genin in the preliminary rounds, but consecutively as well?

I glimpsed the Hokage's steady gaze on me and I merely looked back questioningly. I was just as puzzled by this turn of events as any other. With a small sigh, the Sandaime gave the go ahead for the next match since none of the other villages were protesting the match-up.

"Are you fit to fight, Shinrino Asahi?" Hayate called up in question. I jumped down and landed silently next to him, once again on the arena grounds.

"I'm good," I said tersely before walking up to face Tenten, a tall girl with her hair in buns.

Mentally, I apologized to her. She looked like a nice girl, but I had to redeem myself and wipe any notion of softness towards Konoha nin from the minds of those watching.

Basically, I had to act like a total bitch.

"Begin!"

Tenten began with a fan of kunai, covering all the areas to my sides. I flipped over them, only to wisely continue another combination of flips as Tenten followed with several more attacks of kunai.

A weapons-specialist, huh? After seeing my disaster of a match before, Tenten seemed confident in her abilities. I proceeded to utterly destroy that notion.

I easily batted away assault after assault of every weapon known to man. Inwardly, I was actually kind of impressed at the sheer number of weapons this girl carried on her. I glanced Baki's suspicious eyes out of the corner of my vision. With a sigh, I formed the seals for one of my favorite techniques.

"Kami's Breath no Jutsu," I hissed, concentrating this miniature hurricane only to my left hand. Tenten stayed far away, pelting another wave of metal at me. I evaded her attacks easily, batting those I couldn't with the winds at hand. The distance between us was closing in. Realizing that she couldn't run from me, Tenten pulled out a katana to fend me off.

I merely widened my jutsu and surrounded her with her katana in its center. All her weapons clattered to the ground uselessly as she was enveloped in a prison of wind. Her mouthed moved in shock, but her words were lost in the howling of the winds. I narrowed the spin of my technique. Through the blurred movement of the air, I saw her wince in pain. I've done that to myself accidentally once and didn't leave enough room for my body in the eye of this concentrated hurricane. It hurt like hell to have that kind of force tugged on your skin. Especially when there was also a katana in there with you, moving with the force of the wind to cut you up.

By the time Tenten realized it, the katana had already met her skin multiple times and thin lines of crimson streaked her limbs. I could see her thought process. She couldn't just let go, since the jutsu might keep the katana within range and she'll continue to be injured by it. But she couldn't just let it be either. Our eyes met through the blurred movement of the air. I gave her an apologetic look before a sadistic smirk cross my face.

"Let go," I mouthed to her, hoping she would trust me before she killed herself. To my surprise, she trusted me immediately and she quickly let go of the katana, and since the thing was too long for my jutsu, my winds immediately spat it out to the side.

"Sorry," I mouthed, still disguised behind my disgusting sneer. By then, there was no oxygen left inside my jutsu. She never noticed that. I watched Tenten's eyes slide close as she succumbed to oblivion. Then wasting no time, I slammed my jutsu against the wall. Tenten's crumpled form slid to the ground, leaving a long streak of blood down the crackling concrete.

"TENTEN!" I saw the smaller green-one leap down to the arena. Lee, I think his name was.

"Winner: Shinrino Asahi!" Hayate didn't need to look further at Tenten's battered state to declare the winner of this one. I refused to meet his eyes, instead choosing to look at Baki's direction. He gave me an approving nod that I didn't return. I pretended not to notice Gaara's dark stare.

Now to seal my image as a heartless Sand bitch.

The medic nin hadn't reached her yet, so I picked up Tenten's unconscious form by the back of her shirt and with a grunt, tossed her to the center where all her weapons still lay there, sharp ends up. Lee will be fast enough to catch up.

Just as I had predicted, a green blur darted in before Tenten could land something sharp.

"Nice catch," I said with a cutting smile.

"What are you doing?! Is that how you treat someone who gave her all in battle?!" Lee all but howled at me. I flicked my ponytail over my shoulder, pretending to care less what her thought.

"Che," I snorted derisively. "Shut up. Take that loser and get out of here."

That's right, get angry and attack me. Make me the evil one. Half of me wanted his hit to land.

"Leaf spinning wind!" Lee threw a hard back spin kick at me. I barely managed to block it, and even then, I felt a new bruise forming on my arm.

"Just as I thought…" I forced another smirk on my face. "You're also as pathetic as you appear."

"What did you say?!" Lee growled. I could feel the beginnings of killer intent leaking out of this guy. I was relieved to hear his sensei call out to the stop the altercation.

They had all played nicely into my little ploy. It looks like Baki and that Sound guy bought my little bitch-fest. So did the leaf genin, given the hostile glares I was at the wrong end of. Guess I can't walk around alone in town anymore, if I wanted to survive until the finals.

"Asahi, get up here!" I literally jumped in surprise at the sound of Gaara's voice. He did not pleased – not that he usually did …okay so he actually looked more displeased than usual. He hadn't bought a single moment of my little act. "You've been declared winner."

"Stop wasting time with that pathetic guardian guy." At this point, Gaara's narrow green eyes regarded Lee coldly, as if he had found his new target. I couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive at this new turn of events. Did Gaara mark Lee because he'd attacked me, therefore intruding on Gaara's "only I can kill you" claim on me?

Lee, the idiot, only returned the stare down second for second. As sensing a new sort of rivalry, Lee's sensei stepped up with a smug smile.

"Sand team, there's something I'd like to warn you about, if you don't mind…"

Gaara stared down at him curiously.

"This kid is strong. You'd better prepare yourselves."

Gaara's eyes widened manically. He had found his new target.

Dear Kami help him.

0000000000

**Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi**

I didn't pay much attention to this one, and lasted no more than a minute. But it was impressive nonetheless. Shikamaru used only one jutsu, and yet he easily defeated his opponent without even breaking a sweat. I guess Dad's glowing praise of the Nara had some merit to it.

0000000000000

**Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba**

It looked like Kiba is the clear favorite, although Naruto-kun quickly changed that opinion. Of all things, changing into Akamaru and biting Kiba?!

I could help but giggle at the sheer absurdity of his ingenuity.

"He has good timing with his jutsu," I whispered to Kankuro. He nodded, reluctantly agreeing.

"He's better than I thought."

I was mildly worried in the middle when Kiba transformed Akamaru, but again, all in the spirit of the trickster fox, Naruto-kun fooled them by transforming into first Kiba, then Akamaru. I couldn't help but laugh again when Naruto-kun defeated Kiba in part by, again…of all thing, farting in his face. Kiba's sense of smell seemed to be unusually high, given the actually pain he experienced.

Briefly, I wondered if Narutokun did all this on purpose, or was it sheer luck.

Nonetheless, he gave me a good chuckle.

000000000000

**Hyuuga Hinata vs. Hyuuga Neji**

After that kind of slaughter, I was tempted to have a go at Hyuuga Neji myself, but it looked like Naruto-kun already had him marked.

Gambatte yo, Naruto-kun! Kick his arrogant little ass!

After they'd carried off Hinata, I glanced over at Gaara worriedly. All this violence and bloodshed was getting to him. He was having difficulty containing that bloodlust, and waves of it were roiling around him like some sickening disease.

There were four genin left in the preliminaries since I had already eliminated the odd numbers by fighting twice. There was Chouji, Lee, that sound guy, and Gaara.

Somehow, none of these matchups settled my worries. It seemed like whichever way picked would bring an undue amount of bloodshed. It seemed only Lee might have a chance at surviving.

I held my breath as the screen flickered.

**Gaara vs. Rock Lee**

Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand, teleporting down to the arena.

"Get down here," he demanded of Lee. After the spandex boy completed some odd ritual of pepping himself up, he leaped eagerly to join Gaara.

"To be able to face you this early…" Lee said with a determined grin, "I couldn't be happier."

"Pft," Gaara replied with a disdainful tilt of his head.

"There's no way he can beat Gaara," Kankuro muttered, half to me, half to Naruto-kun next to him. Apparently, my teammate had been trying to hit up the most idiotic-looking leaf nin for information.

"No! He's strong," Naruto-kun replied resolutely.

I watched as Gaara threw his gourd stopped at Lee.

"There's no need to get antsy," the green-one chastised him. I bit my lip and said nothing. That wasn't 'antsy'. That was an outright declaration of death. His kick was hard, but hardly enough to be able to defeat Gaara.

Please don't kill him, Gaara!

Everyone watched as Lee attacked in vain again and again. Every time, Gaara's sand intercepted him, without Gaara moving so much as a muscle.

"The attacks aren't working at all…" Naruto-kun muttered. Kankuro took the chance to brag.

"All physical attacks against him are useless. Because regardless of Gaara's will, the sand protects him." At this Kankuro seemed to realize that futility of Lee's situation, because he continued in a leaden voice.

"That's why up to now, there's never been a single person who's even put a scratch on Gaara."

Lee leaped away, landing on the fourth finger of the hands decorating the front of the stadium. He was already panting a little.

"Lee, take them off!" His sensei called out.

"But Gai-sensei! That's only for a time when I protect many precious people, right?"

What is he talking about?

"It's alright! I'll allow it!"

The entire stadium watched in fascination as Lee removed the weights. I was skeptical until he dropped them, forming two craters on the ground. How much weight was Lee wearing?

"Now I can move easier!"

And move he did. Lee became a blur that I could barely keep up with even when I concentrated. I watched in growing respect as Lee's attacks began hitting that much closer. Gaara's sand was actually having trouble keeping up!

At the rate, Lee will actually—

THUNK!

The loud sound of foot to skull was unmistakable. Lee just kicked Gaara in the head.

Unbelievable.

What did they put in the water here? Because I want some.

It was odd to see purple blossom across Gaara's pale cheek. That guy probably had better skin than the fairest lady of wind country, given how _nothing_ could touch him. But this Lee ninja did.

Briefly, I wondered if Lee could defeat him. Then I simply worried for his life.

"Lee! Explode!"

"YES!!!!"

It was one of the stranger pep talks, but it certainly worked, because despite all my doubts, Lee actually became even faster.

For the first time in my life, I saw an expression of bewilderment on Gaara's face.

Lee was too fast for Gaara to follow.

To my horror, Lee landed a punch hard enough to send Gaara flying. Then sand began to roil wrathfully around Gaara as he stumbled to his feet.

Shit.

"This is bad," whispered Kankuro in a tight voice, sounding my own worries.

Gaara stood up fully, mouth wide open in a mockery of a grin. His eyes were dilated with excitement as pieces of his sand armor crumbled to the ground.

I've never seen a Gaara like this. For all his madness, he had remained mostly cool and collected. Never like this…this…madman before me. I glanced over at Kankuro anxiously. He tightened his lips.

"He'll be killed for the fun of it," he whispered, confirming my fears.

The other Gaara had come out to play. My fears were not alleviated by his armor of sand as it covered up that demented expression of his.

For all my adherence to my duty as a ninja, I still hated meaningless death above all else. Yet, I can do nothing as I watch as one about to unfold before my very eyes. I gripped the railing tight, hoping no one would notice the stark white of my knuckles.

I haven't spent much time with Gaara, but he had pride, like any other human being. For Lee to have forced him to resort to the sand armor…

I watched as Lee exchanged a hopeful look with his sensei.

I watched as Lee entangled Gaara in his Lotus technique, only to perform his devastating combo on a sand dummy.

I watched as Gaara batted him around like a ball.

It looked as if Lee's body hurt too much to move. He was done for.

Then suddenly, just before Gaara could crush him, Lee blurred away, look as energetic as at the beginning.

What happened?

"…Extreme Lotus. Five gates…"

I leaned closer to Kakashi and Gai, not believing my own ears.

The legendary Lotus? This kid knows it?

I couldn't decide whether to focus on what I heard or what I was seeing. Neither seemed possible. I knew very little of the Lotus technique, only that a person could use it to achieve Kage level battle abilities.

Finally a yell drew my attention back to the arena. Lee just opened the fourth gate. I could barely follow him. I watched in a mix of pride and horror as one of my own kicked Gaara around so quickly that Gaara looked like he was bouncing around in an invisible container.

"Extreme lotus!" Lee screamed as he landed a final hit on Gaara. My teammate's limp body actually folded in half under the force of it.

Briefly, I wondered if Lee could actually beat him. Surprisingly enough, that thought didn't make me feel any better than the alternative.

Then I saw Gaara's gourd melt away into sand. Killing intention so heavy that it made it hard to breath filled my lungs.

I saw the tail end of Gaara's attack as he closed his fist. Lee collapsed to the ground screaming in pain. He hit the ground, and his scream cut off.

There was no blood. Thank Kami for that much.

By the time the dust raised that final battle had settled, Gai was standing between Gaara and Lee's body.

"Why…did you save him?" Gaara growled out. He held his head as if it ached.

"He is my beloved comrade."

Of all things, I wondered if anyone had ever called Gaara that. Would he even understand such a term? My chest ached at the thought – like I would suffocate if the pressure wasn't relieved.

I gripped the rail even tighter. Why would I be wondering such a stupid thing? I should be more worried about whether Gaara would try to kill Lee.

"That's enough," Gaara muttered, seemingly more to himself than anyone else. He didn't even react when Lee unconsciously tried to keep fighting. To everyone's surprise, Gaara merely gathered his sand and teleported back to the balcony next to me and Kankuro.

"Ah…welcome back, Gaara," I said woodenly, too surprised to say anything else. He merely glanced at me, but said nothing in reply.

Gaara was back to his stony self.

That thought relieved some of the pressure in my chest.

0000000000000

The final match up was anticlimactic. Their names weren't even projected on the screen. Dosu completed flattened Chouji.

00000000000

And thus ended the preliminaries for Exam 3.

000000000000


	12. Scroll 11

Going Against the Grain

Scroll 11

By Airyo

000000000000000

As soon as we were dismissed, Baki insisted that we eat out after washing up, again with that business about putting up the front of a _normal_ team. I tried to pull the "female problems" card, but he deftly parried me with a "professional kunoichi in the face of any hardship" card.

There wasn't much I could say to that. Even worse, he only gave me 5 minutes to wash up, as I was the only one who even looked relatively worn out after a week's worth of testing. Baki was no more my boss than a toad on the side of the road, but there were fronts to keep up after all, especially when I was unsure on the solidity of my position. I had only time to write a quick note to the Eagle, warning the Hokage that I needed to present him with urgent information, before I had to run out to ensure from keeping my rather dangerous comrades from waiting any longer.

We ended up at a Korean BBQ place, right at the center of the village where we were most likely seen together. It was a relaxing place, obviously used to catering to ninja given the wide set of the booths and easy surveillance of every exit in the area. Even better was the fact that it only early evening, so the majority of the usual cliental had yet to arrive. Unfortunately, even with the best of the restaurant laid out before us on a perfect autumn evening, the atmosphere was heavy. As much as Baki tried to pretend, Team Gaara simply wasn't the cohesive genin team that every other team was supposed to be. We were only a team in the barest of terms, in that we had all had the shared focus of mere survival. Not exactly the best of incentives for camaraderie.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure why Gaara bothered to show up. If my hackles were raised at the thought of some pretentious jounin bossing us around, Gaara's metaphorical hackles must have already combusted skyhigh. He was used to be being the leader of the group. It wasn't like anyone could even put up a fight for the alpha position. I could easily recount several instances where a jounin had tried to order Gaara around, only to be glared in a sniveling puddle of submission. Yet when Baki had waltzed in and announced that we were eating out, he'd simply nodded and immediately started for town. He'd even glared at me for daring to protest. Of course, I then immediately acquiesced to Baki's request. His rather brutal battle with Lee was still fresh in my mind.

Clearly, Gaara had more control over his demon that most people gave him credit for. The bloodshed throughout the exams excited him, yet he knew when to unleash the chaos and when to reign it back in under that cold exterior of his. I wasn't sure to fear him or not. It wasn't a question of logic, since I had to interact with him regardless of my personal opinion. I'd originally written him off, claiming I've seen more frightening things. But that was after only seeing him when he wasn't even trying to be intimidating. When Gaara wanted to be scary, it took everything I had just not to piss my pants. On the other hand…normally, teasing him was almost like being with just another one of my classmates (albeit a rather dangerous one). I should probably decide my exact opinion of him very quickly, lest he think I'm bipolar.

Sensing my musings over across the table, Gaara looked up and my eyes were caught by stony green eyes. Briefly, I was reminded of moss on a very sharp and hard rock. I looked away before my imagination could supply further details of my corpse being dashed upon said sharp and pointy rock into little bits of fleshy confetti.

Dammit. It happened anyway.

With a small sigh, I turned back to my food, trying to ignore the fact that Gaara was still perusing me. Kankuro and Baki weren't helping matters much, eating and chewing and not speaking and the like. Usually, I loved my meat as much as the next ninja, but the weight of Gaara's stare was really bothering me, and each bite tasted like ration bar mush.

Just let me eat in peace! What is he playing at?!

Oh.

Well, that would make sense. He did seem to enjoy the challenge after all.

I looked up and smiled at him. Since I'd already almost hugged him with little repercussion, I kicked aside my very loud voice of caution and pressed forward.

"Gaara, you did great thus far. I'm really glad that –"

"_you haven't kill anyone yet." _No. That wouldn't work. My mind raced and subbed in the next thing that popped up.

"- you're on my team."

While it had been quiet at our booth before, now it was dead silent. Gaara's chopsticks clattered to the table, echoing with each bounce. It felt like three years before those stupid bamboo sticks stopped their horrendous racket. Baki and Kankuro had both stopped moving, chopsticks frozen halfway to their mouths.

The entire time, Gaara didn't look away like before. His gaze was focused intently me from across the grill in the center of the table, lips thinned in intense concentration and brow furrowed deeply. I wasn't quite sure if his cheeks were colored with anger or heat from the grill. He looked like he was debating whether to Desert Coffin me or return the gesture.

Or both.

I gulped and began scooting to the edge of the seats. The sizzle and pop of the grilling meat was beginning to remind me of the sound that my bones and tendons might be producing very soon.

"Hmm," Gaara said. He picked up fallen his chopsticks and began flipping the half-done slices of beef on the grill. It didn't escape my notice that he ferried several finished pieces to my plate and then to his own, leaving none for Baki and Kankuro.

Hoping that this was a good sign and that Gaara wasn't just indulging me in one last feast before my demise, I squeaked out a small "thank you" before nibbling on the offered food.

It still tasted like chewy cardboard. Several moments later, my stomach began to protest said cardboard vehemently. The stress of the moment must be getting to me. I managed to choke down the rest of the food on my plate.

"I need to use the ladies room," I muttered before speeding away like a little coward.

000000000000000

Fortunately, the first stall I picked was empty. Without even bothering to lock the door, I fell to my knees and puked. And puked. And then puked some more. I hadn't been eating much the past week, but somehow, my bowels kept finding new substances to expel.

I felt someone approach behind me, slowly, and deliberately noisily between the sounds of my gut turning itself inside out. Sounded like she had a limp too. This was someone who knew ninja. The painful coiling of my abdominal muscles prevented me from turning to see who it is, but I felt her pause above me.

"Hey, I'm going to be pulling your hair out of your way, kay?"

I managed a half nod before my stomach clenched again. I was grateful for the help, as my hands were currently occupied in preventing me from doing a direct face plant into the pot. Cool hands politely pulled my bangs and most of my ponytail away from my face.

"Thank you," I croaked, leaning against the cool surface when my stomach no longer wanted to jump out of my throat. Gross as it was, the chill helped me refocus my spinning vision. I mentally kicked myself repeatedly for not taking proper care of my body. Save that one disastrous dinner at the tower, I hadn't so much as touched normal food. I've been living on little else but ration bars the past week. Not to mention I haven't exactly been having the most relaxing of weeks. Then to gorge myself on meat? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Ready to get up?" I nodded, and leaned on her as she pulled to my feet. My vision swam with fuzzy black dots. I closed my eyes, willing away the renewed nausea. My helper patiently waited with me.

"Thank you, really," I reiterated, opening my eyes. "I'm sorry you ha—YOU!"

Tenten smiled slightly at me. Save the shallow cuts along her limbs, and the sheer exhaustion on her face, she looked like she was otherwise fine.

"Yeah, me."

She must be back for revenge. I gritted my teeth at the thought that she probably enjoyed seeing me like this.

"Just let me wash up real quick before we head to a training area," I hedged, reaching for the sink. To her credit, the girl didn't drop me as she guided me to the nearest sink. I immediately began to wash my hands, as well as the residue off my face.

"Training area?" she echoed quizzically. Her brown eyes lit up in understanding and she shook her head.

"Oh no! I'm just here for a quick dinner. I'm not here to try to preserve my dignity or youth. My teammates have that area covered," Tenten explained with a slight sad quirk of her lips.

Teammates…oh.

Lee.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. My hands were still under the cold stream of water, but I only faintly registered the chill.

"How is he?" I asked. Tenten shrugged, turning away as she leaned on the adjacent sink.

"He's stable. He'll live. Except…the medics are saying that he's no longer fit to be a ninja."

I bit my lip. Then I slashed my face with the icy water.

"He's lucky to alive," I told her resolutely. "Gaara...he can be very…thorough. I'm actually surprised that Gaara stopped when he did." Tenten regarded me carefully. Finally, she nodded, grudgingly accepting the sincere truth of my statement.

"Thank Kami for that much."

"Yeah."

I finished cleaning up in silence.

"Thank you, Shinrino-san."

"Huh?" I replied dumbly. She smiled and I could see the bruising circles under her eyes.

"You could have been just as brutal as your teammate when you fought me."

She said 'teammate' with a dark edge that I chose to ignore. Instead, I stared at her, wondering what the hell the Leaf was teaching their ninja. Her teammate's career hung in balance, and she herself was about to collapse…and this girl was thanking me?

"I only do what's necessary," I groused, slightly embarrassed that she was thanking me at all. "You should get back to the hospital." Tenten nodded and headed for the door.

"I hope you feel better." I smiled a little at that.

"I hope Lee-san recovers well."

There was a brief pause.

"I'll relay the message."

The door closed with a small click.

I braced myself against the sink, eyeing myself in the mirror. The bad fluorescent lighting caught every haunted shadow on my face. Swollen eyes, dark purple bruising underneath to match my violet contacts, reddened nose, and chapped lips.

I looked like shit.

A small chuckle of a sob rose in my throat and I splashed myself with ice cold water again. I smoothed back the stray hairs of my ponytail. Flicking off the remaining droplets of water from my eyes, I headed back into the restaurant.

00000000000000

"What took you?" Kankuro asked curiously as I reseated myself. "You were gone for like half an hour."

Baki studied me carefully, and I wondered if I shouldn't have done such a good job cleaning myself up. Might as well come clean.

"My stomach was upset," I admitted. "BBQ was a bit much for me after a week of ration bars."

"You've survived longer on them on missions before," Baki parried back.

_Yeah, but I wasn't trying to juggle duties to both villages at once!_

Baki just seemed out to pick at little thing I did. It was like he was trying to bait me. Ino wouldn't rise to such dumb prodings, but unfortunately, Asahi would. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"I blow chunks when I'm stressed and I'm on my period," I snapped. "It's not like I can command my body to stop being female. If you would be so kind as to lay off for a little, I'd appreciate it."

"Shinrino-san…" Baki started with a warning tone.

"I'm going back," I continued brusquely. "Please wake me up for training tomorrow, whenever it is. Good night."

I stood up sharply, only to have my vision tilt out of balance yet again. I caught myself before I could fall flat on my face, but I knew my teammates clearly saw my fumble. Face burning, I hurried outside before I paused to right my internal equilibrium.

God DAMMIT. What was wrong with me?

I leaned against the doorway, breathing deeply, cursing the fuzzy spots that dotted my field of vision. If I had planned this little sickness, I'd be milking this for all it's worth, but this was bad. I can't be falling ill now, of all times. Come on, body, you can do this.

After a few moments of steady meditation, I felt could walk a straight line again, and I pushed off from the doorframe. A quick squint at the skyline told me that night had fallen, but it was still pretty early in the evening. I'll grab some medicine at the hospital, set up my room so it looked like I was sleeping, and then I can contact the Eagle and relay my information. And then, I really am going to sleep.

Game plan set in my mind, I stumbled down the street to the hospital.

00000000000000

Unfortunately, all the Konoha hospital, organized by the most talented medic-nin ever, could offer were standard issue aspirin pills until I found a medic to properly prescribe something stronger. I quickly gave up on that idea with one look at the crowd in the lobby. Standard issue will work until I have time to brave hospital procedures.

I hurried back to the room issued for my stay in Konoha. Feeling temporarily more steady after a double dosage of pills, I set up the alarms as usual. Then I slipped in my ANBU uniform and headed for the Hokage's tower. Upon checking that the Hokage didn't have anyone in his office, I entered through the window without any flourishes.

"Hokage-sama," I began, only to be cut off by a two katana at my neck. Two ANBU stood at either side of me, ready to decapitate me at the slightest movement.

Oops. I forgot to announce my presence. I was getting careless.

"At ease," Sarutobi-sama said with a slight wave of his hand. He'd sensed me, but his guards had not. Despite my rather unprofessional slip-up, I couldn't help but smirk a little that my abilities were at a level that let me startle fellow ANBU.

"Falcon, report." The business-like tone of his voice triggered my own focus. I rapidly relayed the conversation I'd heard verbatim. The lines on his face seemed to deepen as I confirmed every one of his worst fears.

"So Sound and Sand are indeed working together," he summarized with a small sigh. "Thank you, Falcon."

Sensing the dismissal, I saluted.

"Oh, Falcon, and make sure you stop by the hospital. We need you to be at your best for the coming months," Sarutobi-sama added kindly as I paused by the window. Gritting my teeth in embarrassment that even the Hokage had to remind me to do something so basic as take care of myself, I bowed low in gratitude nonetheless. The Hokage was indeed a kind man. Pride in my village buoyed my heart as I exited.

I've done my part here and relayed the information. I could only hope it wasn't too little, nor too late.

00000000000000

I checked back at the hospital, only to immediate turn a 180 at the sight of an even longer line. My head felt light and floaty, kind of like it was stuffed full of cotton candy. I wondered what color said cotton candy would before catching myself and shaking my head furiously.

I'll just take some more pills and get a good night's rest. That should fix me up right quick.

I sneaked back into my room, intent on my soft warm bed.

Too bad there was already someone there.

With a small sigh, I closed the window behind me and then slid to the floor with my back to the wall.

"Hello Gaara."

0000000000


	13. Scroll 12

Going Against the Grain

By Airyo

Scroll 12

He regarded me carefully, but neglected to speak. Gaara's eyes held no accusation, but he was hardly accepting either, if the taut line of his shoulders accounted for anything. Nonetheless, this careful expression was one of the warmer expressions he'd looked at me with in the past week. At least he seemed to have no problems with the reaffirmation of exactly where my loyalties lay, given my distinctive ANBU uniform. This was progress, although I wasn't quite sure which was considered the positive direction and which the negative one.

Realizing that he wasn't going to reply, I decided to ignore him, as the fluffy clouds in my skull demanded attention. I allowed myself a small sigh before coiling my worn muscles to get back up on my feet. The world swam, _again_, but I was ready for the tilt to my internal equilibrium enough to steady myself. When I didn't feel like hurling out my guts at the slightest shift of the air, I headed to my pack for supplies to shower. I could my uniform cling uncomfortably to my back, stiff with sweat from effort of keeping upright. It felt like someone had injected metal into my veins – that was how heavy my limbs were.

Kami, I sound like a whining idiot. I really needed to rest up and get this infestation out of my system.

Blinking (since I didn't trust myself to shake my head) rapidly to clear my thoughts, I just started m path to the bathroom when a tendril of sand intercepted me. I pivoted slowly on both feet, careful to move the focus of my gaze gradually. The effort to even parody a smile was beyond me at this point.

"Do you need something?" I asked flatly, too tired to inflect anything but monotonous curiosity in my voice. I meant no insult, nor acquiescence, but _dammit I am tired and I wanted my sleep now_.

The soft brush of hair against my temple was my only warning.

A whip of sand arced towards me. My body reacted instinctively, this time to my disadvantage. I only managed to complete a fraction of my flip away before my world slanted dangerously. The floor collided with me in a resounding cacophony of flesh and rainbow spots in my eyes.

I think I may have blacked out for several moments, because my next second of awareness found me lying on ground, side burning from my spectacular meeting with the wooden floor panels.

"Wha—" I hissed out, half in pain and half in rising fury. My throat closed with my escalating wrath, choking off the rest of my gritted words. _What. The. Fuck._

"You have pushed yourself past your limits," Gaara informed me stonily, no more enthralled than someone summarizing a particularly dry textbook.

I swallowed, struggling to calm my anger as well as the swirling colors my eyes were feeding me. A resounding, "Ya think, asshole?" fought to escape my lips. Fortunately, a coppery tang filled my mouth – I'd bit my tongue in the process. My teeth caught at the wound where I'd nicked my own tongue, and I let the pain settle my mind.

This was Sabaku no Gaara, I told myself. Rage would gain me nothing. He probably wanted me to fly off the handle, and I was reluctantly reminded of a cruel child teasing some wounded animal for the sheer pleasure of its struggles. For all my discipline and duties, it was spite that forced down the remainder of my anger. If it was attention that he wanted, it was attention that he won't be getting, I decided with a vindictive impulse. Feeling sufficiently settled given the circumstances, I peeled myself off the ground.

"Thank you, Obvious-sama," I bit out with far more snap than I should have. "I realize that. But don't worry, I'll be right as rain tomorrow if you'll be so kind as to let me rest a bit. I am merely mortal. Feel perfectly at ease to play with me _tomorrow_."

Gaara didn't deign to reply, but he let me pick my way to the bathroom connected to my room.

He was still rooted to the same exact spot on my bed when I finished. His complete attention was already solely on me, and I wondered if the door didn't already have a hole burned into it. Frankly, even being his teammate for nearly 5 months, it was still unsettling to be the subject of his regard. The shower had cleared my head a bit, and now, I could tell that every fiber of his muscles was strained in deceptive relaxation.

Gaara looked like he might attack me any moment, snapping at the smallest hint of a trigger. It was easier than expected to will my body not to tense in response.

I held his eyes as I slowly approached the bed. It actually helped to have a specific point of focus as I moved, as my vision shifted only a minute amount.

My sore knees touched the edge of my bed and I sighed slightly at the promise of a soft bed. Completely ignoring the fact that a murderous little monster was perched on the other side, I rolled gingerly under my comforters, tugging a bit more vehemently when my blankets stopped under Gaara's weight. He didn't budge, the bastard, and finally, I gave up and allowed myself to sink into the curving mattress.

"If you're going to kill me," I muttered through a yawn, "please wait until I'm asleep." I took his silence to be a yes.

"G'night, Gaara," I murmured lightly, praying fervently behind my covers that I will wake up the next morning. Thankfully, he got the hint after several long minutes. The weight of the shifting air brushed the hair at my temples and then the weight at my feet disappeared. I sat up just to check, and the lack of his silhouette helped still the staccato beat in my chest. However, the memory of his presence made even the lingering moonlight spilling across my bed feel heavy.

Even as my body screamed for sleep, rest didn't come until several hours later.

00000000000000

I woke to morning sun spilling into the room. I frowned, disoriented by the fact that I'd woken on my own even through I didn't manage to fall asleep until long after Gaara left. My head didn't spin everything I blinked. It was as if I'd slept for 15 hours straights, so rested I felt…realization of exactly which direction my window faced brought me to reality with jarring speed.

My window faced westward. I was looking at the SETTING sun!

Why didn't anyone wake me? Grumbling some of my more creative ways to kill Kankoro since it was his job to wake me for training, I stumbled out of bed and into my clothes in record speed. Hair, face, and teeth were taken care of all at once, and I quite nearly rolled down stairs to the main kitchen. There was a note on the fridge door.

_Asahi,_

_Don't know how you pissed off Gaara, but you should either stay asleep or go somewhere where there is a LOT of people. _

_Kankoro_

Kankoro's note fluttered to the ground from my lax fingers. Honestly, was I an idiot? Being around Gaara somehow decreased my IQ by 300 and increased my bravery by 3000. On all accounts, he was more dangerous than wearing a detonated explosion tag on my head, and here I treated him like a big fluffy teddy bear. The mental image of Gaara in a fluffy bear suit did nothing for my rising horror, but I forced a rather stilted laugh from myself anyways.

Somehow, I only managed to be a complete idiot around this guy. Face me with the assignment of spying on a kage, I'd hardly twitch at all. Make me even think about Gaara, and my common sense promptly drops to negative infinity. The moment he decides that his little game was boring to him, that was when my neck goes under the guillotine.

Yet, for all the curses my brain and logic tried to get through to me, I still trusted him with my life. I tentatively felt my forehead. Was I sick for too long and my brain fried itself into a mass of illogical fangirlism? I was still slightly feverish, but nothing severe enough to complete addle my thought process. I shook my head slowly to clear the building confusion. Let's start over from the top.

So. Gaara. Big evil jinchurriki who only needed to think it before snapping me half. Was enough of a bastard to even knock me over when I clearly couldn't defend myself.

And me. Confused spy who witnessed his power firsthand countless times and fears him.

Obvious conclusion?

…

I'd still trust him. Innocent until proven evil.

…

…

What the hell is wrong with me?

Too frustrated to think straight, I headed back to bed. My head was starting to spin and throb again. I took some of the cold medicine on the night stand by my bed, washed it down the glass of water by it, and hopped back into bed.

I'll think more on this tomorrow.

0000000000000

The next time I opened my eyes, it was dark again. Bold green numbers glowed against the background.

2:34 am.

I briefly wondered if Kankoro and Baki were still alive, given the incredibly long rest I've been allowed. Somehow, I didn't quite care. In the back of my mind, I vaguely remembered that I took a large amount of cold medicine just a few hours earlier, making my loopiness realistic and therefore acceptable at the current time. Which was probably why Ino the spy wasn't on high alert.

The liquidy warmth of a completely perfect slumber still lingered in my limbs and since it was such an odd hour of the day, I was more than happy to drift back into that wonderful cradle of sleep. I stretched with a little mewl of contentment – screw Baki and Sand and politics and all that crap, I got to sleep properly! – and rolled over. My leg bumped into the something. It took my sleep -fogged brain a moment to realize that there shouldn't be another 'something' on my bed.

I sat up and glowered at the impediment to my maximum comfort.

Said impediment glowered back with eyes the same exact color as the numbers on my alarm clock.

"Y-you?" I managed to squeak out. I contemplated faking narcolepsy, since Kankoro mentioned something about how Gaara had a distinct rule about not killing anyone in her sleep. That idea fizzled into a little puddle in the corner when a tendril of sand curled around my wrists, forcing me to remain upright. He leaned in close enough that I could feel the stray hairs at my temples move with his breath. Did this guy have no conception of personal space? It was odd considering how skittish Gaara was about touch.

His eyes glowed with unsettling intelligence.

"You are weak."

I honestly didn't know how to respond to this. A part of me rose to the insult that it was, but the other more realistic part of me had to acknowledge the truth of his statement. Torn between going Asahi and going Ino on him, I simply stared back questioningly.

"You are not training as hard as you have before. Instead, your body is deteriorating and wasting away."

What he said was true, but it sounded like I was a goldfish that he was about to flush down the toilet and now he was saying his last goodbyes. Not a good notion given my current circumstances.

"I've been bus—"

I cut off my answer, realizing how pathetic my excuses sounded. I really really didn't want him to loose what little respect Gaara held for me. I cleared my throat of the post-slumber roughness and tried again.

"True, I have been neglecting my training, but I will return to my original schedule tomorrow," I hedged instead, hoping that'll at least ease his disappointment in my activities. Nosy little bastard, isn't he?

"Tomorrow," Gaara echoed, making it quite clear that he was holding me to my words. He wasn't as rough as before when he withdrew his sand. Apparently satisfied with our conversation, Gaara then disappear in his signature swirl of sand.

I stared at where his silhouette had been, leaning close to my ear. Then I collapsed back onto my head, delighting the way oxygen coursed through my veins in a very life-like manner. Ever encounter with Gaara was like running 100 laps around Suna in the blistering mid-day heat. At this rate, I was either going to have the strongest heart of Konoha, or I was going to die of heart disease in 3 years.

000000


	14. Scroll 13

Going Against the Grain

By Airyo

Scroll 13

0000000000000000

The next morning, I woke feeling surprisingly refreshed, given Gaara's little midnight visit.

Then my uterus decided to greet me and twinged gleefully. I was tempted to plot its demise, so at least then it wouldn't bother me after the initial pain from ripping it out of my abdomen. But then, after reconsidering, I crawled to the bathroom for a hot shower instead.

I really wished for the medication that kunoichi drank to suppress their menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, at my age, there were dangers of infertility. And for a spy like me, where normalcy was key, pregnancy could be the ultimate trump card. Most people would think that a village would never send out a pregnant kunoichi out on to the field, for the risks were too great for both the kunoichi and the village. This was true, for the most part, although if carefully planned, entire villages could be brought to the ground due to one pregnant woman. Just look at how people coo over a normal pregnant woman – now just imagine if said pregnant woman had extensive training in manipulation!

My mental rant on girl power made my complaining womb quiet to a barely tolerable level. After a quick shower and my usual hygiene routine, I skittered downstairs, only to bump into Kankoro wearing a "kiss the cook" apron. At least I thought it was the puppet-master until his head swiveled 360 degrees before biding me good morning with clacking teeth.

Then it offered me coffee.

I rolled my eyes before shooting the Kankoro a glare. He grinned at me from the kitchen table and withdrew his damnable puppet. Puppet-masters, I decided, were sick, sick people with a burst of annoyance. Who knew what kind of creepy fetishes these guys had given how much they cherished their little puppets. I shuddered at the thought. Kankoro seemed to pick up my line of thought, because his grin stretched wider.

"You and Gaara truly are family," I snapped without thinking. "Both of you have a really twisted sense of fun."

Disgust and fear wiped that grin off of his face. I felt the tingling of guilt at the resounding silence that followed. Kankoro calm finished his coffee, though by the looks of the tension thrumming through his body, his knuckles were probably white from gripping the cup so hard.

"_That_ doesn't make us family," he said quietly. Then he quietly collected Karasu and exited the room. I was left staring at the empty coffee cup that Kankoro left, thinking. As much as Asahi was guilty over insulted Kankoro, Ino found it quite interesting that Kankoro didn't regard Gaara and himself as family. Sure, Gaara terrorized just about anything by being within a 5-mile radius of it, but he still was Kankoro and Temari's baby brother. I found myself sympathizing more with the jinchuuriki than with the elder brother who had to live in fear of his own little brother. It was such a tragedy. Tears started prickling my eyes, an unfortunate side effect of my monthlies.

So when Gaara swirled into view, I might have accidentally looked at him with dewy eyes of sympathy and other girly emotions. Because he took one look at me and froze in place. Ino clinically offered up the conclusion that even if Gaara was a messed-up little boy, he was nonetheless a boy and probably had the inherent instincts of any male when faced with a girl about to cry.

"Gaara," I said with a sniffle. The redhead stiffly took the seat Kankoro had left empty, emerald eyes staring at me with a mix of bewilderment and disgust. Huh, brave boy. I blinked, and a tear leaked out from my eye, trailing down the side of my cheek. Gaara followed its path with wary eyes. Watching him, I was hit with an interesting, if risky, idea.

"Gaara," I started again, tears welling up further in my violet eyes. My contacts were blurring from the influx of fluid, but I kept my tears coming. I had already gotten over my little bought of feelings and gooey thoughts, but I had been wondering about the limits of Gaara's emotional tolerance. I just hoped he didn't kill over such things.

"It's s-so sad…" I blubbered. I knew I looked pretty when I cried, because I had practiced this once for months on end. I had pretty eyes, and my face didn't get blotchy when I cried this way, and I also made sure I bit my lip so my mouth wouldn't twist like a crinkled rag. I tilted my head down, so my glittering eyes were a perfect mix of kicked puppy and pretty girl. Of course, this resembled nothing on how I actually cried, but I wasn't about to let Gaara see that display (he's kill me simply for assaulting his eyes too much).

"What?" he finally asked, sensing that I was waiting for him to ask about the source of my tears.

"Your family," I replied with a heartbreaking little sob. "You s-should be surrounded with love and yet everyone hates you…" My voice trailed off with a pathetic little whine, finishing off with another little hiccup of a sob. Inwardly, I wondered if this was bit much, but I quickly consoled myself that I did so to know exactly which buttons I can press with Gaara.

"You're crying…" Gaara began. I mentally rolled my eyes at this, but quickly returned my attention to him, for he looked like a lost little boy when he wasn't baring his teeth and generally being evil and creepy. He tilted his head. "…for me?"

I nodded hesitantly, making more tears fall from my eyes. I guess, in a way, I was.

"Liar," he said softly. I looked up from my lap with shock, but his face remained unreadable. He wasn't angry, so at least my death wasn't sealed. Yet.

"You would cry for any jinchuuriki," he accused. Well, I couldn't really lie about that. In my state, Naruto could also bring me to tears. I slowly nodded in agreement.

"Stop crying," he commanded me bluntly. "If you cry for such a stupid reason again, I'll kill you." The sheer astonishment from his statement was enough to still my tears. By the time I had managed to dry my eyes on my sleeve, he had also disappeared.

I sighed before trudging back upstairs to get ready for the team meeting, breakfast forgotten. What was it with the Sabaku brothers making me feel so damn guilty today?

00000000

I met Gaara and Kankoro outside Baki's room not ten minutes later. Thankfully, neither of them bothered to look up at my approach, given how I'd managed to insult both of them within a span of 5 minutes. Quite a feat, I imagine.

Baki didn't make us stew outside too long before he opened the door and allowed us in.

"I have an update from the Kazekage-sama," he began after the cursory jutsus to maintain our privacy. "He is pleased that all three of you have progressed to the finals as planned."

"All plans remain as set for now, except one minor change. Shinrino, Kankoro," he addressed. We both straightened to attention at his mention of our names, though I didn't miss how he used my family name. He still didn't trust me.

"Instead of attacking the village, you two are to stay near Gaara and insure that he completes his mission. Our allies will be taking care of that instead. He is matched against the Uchiha for the finals, right?"

We nodded in unison. The reports about Orochimaru surfaced in my thoughts, and I wondered if there was a connection.

"Then the Uchiha is to remain unharmed. His death might spell the end of Gaara's control before the signal. If Gaara looses control, you two will step in." Baki glanced at me for a moment before continuing.

"Gaara is essential to this plan. You will make sure that he doesn't deviate from the timing." Baki kept his gaze on me during this. I only narrowed my eyes and nodded tersely, my calm façade covering the thudding rhythm of my heart. I couldn't shake the suspicion that the only reason I was placed on the team was as a sacrificial lamb. Gaara seems to hold some respect on my life, as demonstrated by his failure to kill me when I dared to enter the Kazekage's office that one day. My blood would be good enough to sate his bloodlust. It was a sobering thought.

"So should we throw our matches?" Kankuro asked. I knew he was itching to fight the Aburame, who had made easy work of a Sound technique that made many of us nervous.

"If it decreases the advantage of our attack. Passing the Chuunin exam is little importance to you three. The mission takes all precedence. Other than that change, I have no more news. Any other questions?"

I raised my hand, relieved to see that it wasn't shaking. Until this moment, I don't think I ever fully comprehended how dangerous my position was. On a SS-class mission, I was already in the lion's den. Yet my mission required that I further stick my head into said ravenous lion's jaws. It didn't help that my surrogate village held no importance over my life, whatsoever.

"Shinrino?"

_Is it true that Sand is allied with Sound?_

_Is Orochimaru our ally as well?_

_Am I a sacrifice? Is that why Temari was kept behind?_

There were so many questions floating in my head that I couldn't ask. Not when Baki still looked at me like I was an outsider. It was no secret that I was a random orphan taken in by the Sand. Who knew where my loyalties really lied. Finally, I licked my lips before speaking, my mouth drier than the seasonal drought.

"What is the signal?"

Baki shrugged, his originally suspicious gaze now gone.

"They will tell us when the time has come."

0000000000000

Baki didn't let us off until early afternoon, after a decent training session. It was only to demonstrate how normal a genin squad we were, although I was sure that no one could believe that after Gaara's little episode with Lee. Nonetheless, it was good to finally get back onto a routine after the hectic schedule we'd been put through lately.

After another quick shower, I hurried downstairs. There was no one in the kitchen area, which was fortunate. I really didn't want to talk to any one of my current teammates at the moment. I slipped on nicer pair of sandals and reached for the door.

"Where are you going?"

I whipped around with a startled yelp. Gaara was now sitting at the kitchen table.

"You scared me." He only continued looking at me, although I couldn't quite tell if he was angry or bored. The dark circles and the lack of eyebrows made it especially difficult to tell on an already stony face. I edged for the door. His silence was beginning to make me fidgety.

"Shopping."

"Shopping?" There was a slight crease between where his eyebrows should have been. Perhaps a confused frown?

"Uh, yeah. Konoha is famous for it's marketplace. Merchants like to sell here since it's a pretty central location and near the coast, so a lot of stuff can be shipped over easily, like fresh produce," I babbled.

"But we have fresh produce," Gaara countered. I winced. True. He was actually making me trip up, which was telling on exactly how apprehensive I was right now.

"I still want to look around." What was I doing? As a ninja, and ANBU to boot, this was unacceptable. Not if I wanted to live to see another sunrise. Against all instinct, I slapped a perky smile onto my face.

"I wanna look at pretty dresses. I heard they have a lot of jewelry stands too! You want to come?" I winked at him saucily. "I might even let you see me in some of the sexier outfits they're selling."

Gaara glared at me for long minute as I struggled to maintain my sugary smile. Then he rolled his eyes and disappeared with a swirl of sand. By then, my knees had taken on a gelatinous quality and I sank to ground. I guess smiling and winking didn't affect him anymore, if he could glare at me like that. The thought of going further and….hugging him made what remained of my knees liquefy to a little puddle.

It took me a few minutes to recollect myself enough to walk out to door.

What I actually wanted to do was go visit Mom. I easily found the Yamanaka flower shop, probably more from subconscious memory than from my memorization. The wind chime on the door tinkled gaily as it welcomed me. The ease I found only amongst plants sank through my skin, and I breathed the damp, earthen air with a great sigh.

"Shinrino-san? Can I help you?"

I opened my eyes to see Sakura behind the counter, smiling at me with a mix of uncertainty and professional courtesy. I grinned back a little awkwardly, thrown by the lack any other people resembling my mother. Sakura still reminded me too much of Tsuru for me to be comfortable. Not to mention, I had just pounded her face in not a week ago.

"Yes, do you think you could gather a bouquet of myosotis alpestris?" I purposely used the latin name of a flower not indigenous to the area, hoping that a) Sakura wouldn't know the name and would ask the Manage – my Mom or b) even if Sakura did know, which I doubted she would, she would figure out that the Yamanaka shop didn't carry such a flower and would also call my Mom.

"Myosotis? You mean forget-me-nots? Alpine forget-me-nots?" I nodded, smiling that she'd passed my little test. Usually the running the Yamanaka flower shop would fall to the daughters of the family. Rather than an unfortunate chore that took the daughter from her ninja training, it was an important exercise in reading and subtly manipulating people towards what they really wanted to say with the flower language. Since the Yamanaka flower shop catered to mainly shinobi, that was harder said than done. A twinge of regret reminded me that it was Sakura, not I, that was working here.

"I don't think we carry that particular flower. Would you like to look at some of the others under the same genus?" She talked softly, and I got the feeling that even when she yelled and screamed, it would be in that odd fragile way that Tsuru would act in. I shook my head, pushing back the bloody flashbacks in my mind with a frown.

"Could I speak with the manager then?"

Sakura's eyes darkened.

"Shinrino-san. If you're here simply to taunt me or feed your twisted ego, I will have to ask you to leave." She motioned for the door.

She probably thought I was looking to embarrass her further, since I seemingly sought her out only a few days after I defeated her at the preliminaries. Sakura wouldn't be thinking illogically at all, for she's probably heard the horror stories of me and my team. I shook my head again, this time fervently enough to make my side-swept bangs slap my face.

"Sakura-san, that is not the case," I told her earnestly. "I work at the greenhouse back in Suna, and I wanted to check if that last shipment of cactus flowers made it over okay."

"Then why did you ask me for forget-me-nots?" Her gaze wasn't wavering, even peeking from behind that curtain of pink bangs. I wondered how badly I had misjudged her. Her sudden show of spine was completely at odds with her originally meek personality. Was it Inner Sakura taking the reins?

"Sorry," I admitted with a wince. I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "I kind of wanted to test you, to see how Konoha ran their flower shops. I'd have to say that I was impressed. The girls back home wouldn't have known what myosotis alpestris was."

Mildly mollified by my compliment, Sakura nodded slightly before leading me to the back where I knew Mom's office would be. She knocked lightly on her door before entering. I lingered by the door where Mom couldn't see me. My palms were sweating. I found myself hoping Mom was still proud of me after so many years.

"Yamanaka-san, Shinrino-san is here from Suna. She says she wants to check up on the latest shipment of cactus flowers from Hanawari Greenhouse." Sakura regarded both Mom and I carefully. I had to chuckle.

Cunning girl. She was checking the truth my story on several levels. First, if such a shipment from Suna did come. Second, if the shipment was correctly cactus flowers like I'd claimed (which it was, since I'd filled out that order myself). Thirdly, she purposely mispronounced the name of the greenhouse, probably to insure that I did work there.

"It's Himawari Greenhouse," I whispered before stepping out.

"Yamanaka-san," I said smoothly, not a hint of my overwhelming mix of joy and anticipation to finally reunite with Mom. "I come representing Himawari Greenhouse's best regards."

"I-- Shinrino-san!"

"You also have lovely forget-me-nots, which Sakura-san was kind enough to show to me. If you take care of the cactus blooms half as well as you've cared for those flowers, I have nothing to worry about."

Sakura looked at Mom curiously, and Mom nodded haltingly to the question in her eyes.

"Sakura-chan. Could you please give me a moment with Shinrino-san?"

The pink-haired girl nodded and quickly withdrew, quietly shutting the door behind her.

"Ino-chan, my little girl!" Mom wrapped me up in a large hug, nuzzling my head like I was five-years-old. I tolerated it, since she hasn't seen me in almost a decade. It certainly wasn't because I actually enjoyed being cuddled like that.

Who was I kidding?

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I knew my face as splotchy as a diseased tomato, but I couldn't keep the wide smile off my face. I've also suffered for the lack of comfort my mother's embrace, especially those early years when I was still new to strange village whose regard for me was tepid at best.

"Mom, I've missed you."

00000000000

I exited Mom's office after the splotchy redness of my face had faded away. I didn't dare stay too long, but Mom made me promise to visit again very soon, which I wholeheartedly gave. My mood significantly lifted by my little chat with Mom, I just about skipped back out.

Sakura was reading by the counter. She looked up when I stepped back into the main shop.

"Shinrino-san," she began hesitantly. "I wanted to apologize for early. It was out of line for me –" I grinned and her voice faded into confusion. I guess Meek Sakura was back.

"No problem," I told her. "I'd actually be a lot angrier if someone had punched me in the face like I did to you. You healing okay, right?"

Sakura nodded, unconscious rubbing the side of her cheek where my fist had landed during the preliminaries. She looked down, a pained look on her face, even though all the bruising had healed. It reminded me of something…

"Though I have to admit. You made me real nervous for a bit. I've never had anyone break out of my Chakra Freeze no Jutsu before," I added, watching what little of her expression I could see between her curtain of hair. Sakura lit up a little, hope shining briefly in her eyes before she blushed and looked down again, probably beating herself down again.

Geez, this girl was like an open book.

I abruptly grabbed her face, forcing her hair back away from her face. Sakura squeaked, and then tried to squirm out of my grip. I held firm as I studied her face, turning it side to side.

"Why in the world do you hide behind all that hair?" Sakura twisted away from me. It didn't escape my notice that she frantically tried to brush her hair back over her forehead. It's been years since I last her in preschool. In that time, had no one really told her forehead wasn't as terribly big as those girls made it out to be?

"What are you doing?" I pulled her forehead protector from her neck and tied it to her head, making sure to push back her bangs so the metal band sat halfway on her forehead. Sakura pushed away from me, sputtering at my molestation of her person.

"I should ask you the same question!" she near shrieked, more surprised than angry. I crossed my arms, sure in my side of the argument.

"But you look so cute this way – I don't see that point of hiding behind such an outdated hairdo! Do you feel like there's something to hide?" Sakura stared at me, before nodding slowly. I rolled my eyes, and then sighed dramatically, hiding the small smile that curled my lips. It's been too long since I've had a female friend. I foresee a makeover party in the future…

"Let me ask this again: Do you feel there's something to hide?"

"No?"

"Smart girl," I nodded approvingly. A quick glance to the clock made me realize I've already overstayed my welcome. I still needed to buy something pretty to explain my long exploration of the marketplace.

"Well, I need to go. Next time I see you, Sakura-san, you'd better not be hiding again!"

I ran out, buoyed by the cheery twinkle of wind chimes on the door. I'm sure Sakura's still staring after me in shock. The thought only amused me further, and I actually let myself let out a loud laugh. Today was looking up to a good day, after all.

00000000000


	15. Scroll 14

Going Against the Grain

By Airyo

Scroll 14

000000000

Sakura kept her new hairstyle, probably more from fear of being molested again than from any new confidence on her part. Each time I went to visit Mom and Dad, I also spent time with Sakura, even accompanying her to visit Lee in the hospital a few times. Fortunately, he was usually asleep, so I felt alright with entering and adding my own daffodil to his bedside. I had no doubt that he remembered my cruel performance at the preliminaries.

The road back to the flower shop from the hospital ran along one of the busiest portions of the day market – the jewelry stands. At the height of noon, one day, the sun's glare made every pretty piece of stone seem gaudy. Even Sakura's emerald eyes seemed too bright paired with her already blindingly pink hair. I squinted fiercely as we walked down the street. I had a stern-looking face when I wasn't careful about my expression, due to the sharpness of my features. While useful in intimidating opponents (or going undercover as a boy), it wasn't quite as practical when strolling among civilians.

However, when the fifth passerby took a look at my direction, squeaked, and then literally skittered away like an odd hybrid of a mouse and a spider, I started to suspect that something else was going on. Sure, the Yamanaka nose was perfect for playing snooty, and yeah, my fair complexion only made my dark violet contacts that much more fierce. It was even more effective with my natural royal blue eyes. But that was nothing on the Hyuugas, especially with their pale, pupiless eyes. Not even Hiashi-sama would bring about this kind of reaction. Not even if the passerby knew that he could literally kill them with a touch. The only people who could be so visibly intimidating would be –

I whipped around, eyes narrowed now in suspicion.

None of those on my mental list were behind me. I couldn't sense anyone either. Sakura just gave me a questioning look. I shook my head, making the excuse that I wanted to look at some jewelry at a nearby stand. One particular necklace caught my eye – a small gourd carved out of wood, ornately knotted with red string. The sight of made me shiver as the memory of a gourd-shaped silhouette against the watery moon came to mind.

"Do you like it?"

Sakura's voice shook me out of my trance. Apparently, I had been staring at the gourd necklace long enough for her to notice. She smiled at the owner before picking up the piece.

"Gourds are a pretty popular charm in Chinese culture," she told me as she flipped the tag to look at the price.

"Against what?" I asked.

"Against evil spirits," Sakura replied with a shy smile, as if she wasn't sure if I would dislike how she was showing off her knowledge. I could only nod, as I knew that rejecting this side of her would crush what little self-esteem she already had.

And no one else at present would understand the utter irony in that bit of history.

Spurred by my semi-positive response, and oblivious to my aversion to the necklace, Sakura continued her little lesson. "In ancient times, people liked to use them to hold precious materials, like wine or an elixir."

_Or lethal materials like possessed sand…_

She smiled as an idea lit in her eyes.

"Here, I'll get it for you as a gift."

"Wha –"

"I won't take 'No' for an answer," she declared stubbornly. I was left holding the accursed necklace as my pink-haired friend paid the stall owner.

"Put it on."

One of these days, Sakura will discover exactly how dangerous her sparkling-shoujo-girl-how-could-you-possibly-not-comply-with-me?-you-cruel-fiend look could be. With a sigh, I slipped it over my head.

Oddly enough, I felt as if whatever dark thing that had been hovering over my shoulders had dissipated.

00000

Gaara didn't bother me that rest of that night, which was already strange in of itself. The past few days, when I'd been visiting the flower shop with more frequency after our training sessions, he'd pester me every night after I got back.

"Be careful," he would warn, as if he didn't want my life himself. "They suspect something if you keep visiting them." The hissing sound of his sand would swirl around my ankles, teasing and nipping, hinting at the type of damage possible. Even then, I could only freeze with uncertainty. Save some rather dumb antics of a fangirl, I really had nothing on this guy. He wasn't upset over my betrayal of his village – in fact, he seemed to take sickening delight over the fact that only he knew of my existence. But that wasn't exactly something I could use against him should Gaara ever feel to need to play around with me.

Yet tonight, I saw no sign of him. I reclined on my bed, fiddling with my gourd necklace. Well, that was something new we shared in this rather meaningful relationship; Gaara and I now both possess gourds, though he did to a more thorough degree.

Snickering to myself for my rather terrible pun, I turned so I was completely sprawled across my bed. I felt restless, and my limbs positively buzzed with unused energy.

For the first time in a long time, my schedule wasn't filled with some sort of sneaky activity. I haven't heard of any meetings of an evil nature, and I didn't have an appointment with the Hokage. I'd already completely my daily training, and it'll be odd if I dropped by the flower shop after dark.

I could visit Gaara…I shook my head, the memory of him put an odd pressure on my throat. While all spies had an unnerving sense of masochism, voluntarily approaching him seemed stupid from any angle.

My decision made, I slowly went to Gaara's room. Licking my lips, I raised my hand to knock on the door, which had somehow expanded to tower over me ominously.

"Asahi?"

Kankoro's voice startled me when my knuckles were a hair's breadth from the wood. When I jumped, my hand thumped against the door like a dead thing.

"What are you doing?" the puppet master hissed nervously, remaining at the far end of the hall, away from his brother's room, and me. Something about his squinty-eyed fear annoyed me (probably mostly because I felt exactly the same kind of gnawing apprehension in my chest), and I knocked again. The noise echoed between us like some sound effect from a horror movie.

"Trying to communicate with Gaara," I replied snippily.

I heard the rustle of sand, hissing like the rattle of an irritated rattlesnake, and then Gaara's door opened. He was sitting in the middle of his bed with his back to me, as if in meditation. I could see grains of sand drifting through the air like a bad mimicry of snow. His enormous gourd leaned on the wall within reach, and images of that rain nin being crushed into jelly flashed through my mind.

"Hi Gaara-chan," I squeaked. He ignored me. I paused, disconcerted by the lack of response. Usually, it was the too-much-response part of Gaara's personality that grated on me. I couldn't get him to leave me alone. Yet the one time I decide to approach him, he ignores me?

Though tempted to turn the fangirlism on, I only stood there, waiting for some sort answer from him. He didn't even so much as twitch a muscle. For a moment, I was afraid that he'd died. Maybe from forgetting to eat. A closer look shot that notion out of the air. Ever so slightly, I could see the rise and fall of his shoulders. Asleep?

But he couldn't sleep…

The smart move would have been booking it out of the room, but I found myself approaching the bed, craning my neck around to see Gaara's face. His eyes were open, but he didn't even register me waving a hand in front of his nose. Creepy.

"Hey," I whispered.

His eyes snapped to meet mine.

"Mother dislikes interruptions," he whispered in a mockery of my tone. Before I could back away, sand surrounded us. I couldn't help letting out a yelp as I curled into myself instinctively. The memory of being entrapped in Gaara's sand sent a cold chill down my spine.

Fortunately, the teleportation ended in seconds.

Unfortunately, he dropped me on my stomach on what felt like a tree branch. Hard. The squeak I'd been struggling to keep down popped out of me as I gripped for purchase instinctively when I started slipping back. My feet kicked at empty air.

I looked up to see a pure sky invaded by the full moon. There was still enough light for me to see that I was on a roof. On one of the gigantic decorative fish some idiot though would look good on a traditional building. And I was sprawled across the tip of its tail fin, an ugly piece of rock hardly thicker across than my thigh. Gaara, the jerk, easily landed on his feet next to me and was looming over me.

"Gaara!" I hissed as I struggled to right myself so I could at least sit on the fin instead of dangling by my armpits like some civilian. It was curved oddly and made it hard to find leverage to flip myself up. "What the hell?"

He made no move to answer (nor help me up, the jerk) and simply settled into his favorite position of one leg propped up under his arm. Three feet away from where his teammate (me) squirmed for balance like a worm on a fishhook. Instead, he just sat there and watched as I finally managed to swing a leg up on the awkwardly curved shape. We were high up enough that it was quite breezy, but it couldn't be fixed by a little chakra to stick me to the stone like a gecko.

Albeit a nervous gecko. I found myself straddling and hugging the statue, slowly inching my way in towards the base of the fin where Gaara was comfortably seated. Trees were nothing compared to this, but when you're eye level with the moon, some line has been crossed.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just discovered that I hated heights. Oh, the things you learn about yourself when you're hanging out with a demon container.

"Gaara," I tried again, ignoring how high pitched my voice had become. Let him think it was the thinner air or something. "Why are we up here?"

_And not down on the ground like normal little shinobi_? Again, he didn't so much as offer a single word, though he had the audacity to look amused. Gritting my teeth against my fear as the wind pulled tauntingly at my hair, I very slowly sat up so I no longer locking my elbows around some fish.

I meet Gaara's eyes. With a background of the moon and his hair and clothes tossing in the wind, I had to admit he looked kind of cool.

"Do you not sleep?"

We both looked down to see one of the Sound guys (Dosu, I think) looking at Gaara.

"What do you want?" Gaara's eyes narrowed into a frown.

"I was planning on getting you as you slept," Dosu said mildly. He pulled back his sleeve to show that odd sound apparatus, a lick of killing intent now emanating from him. "Now we can just fight. Then I'll have a higher chance of fighting Sasuke-kun"

Well, that was the wrong thing to say. Gaara, who measured himself by killing strong shinobi, wouldn't take kindly to someone trying to take his "toy" away. Dosu, the idiot, kept babbling like he thought he was some hot stuff.

"I know about your sand techniques. I wonder if it's faster than my sound." I rolled my eyes even as I desperately brainstormed methods to get far, far away from the elevating battle site very, very quickly. Of course sound was faster than sand, but that wasn't really much more useful than judging the speed of a sparrow vs. a window. The window was still going to win.

"Mother gets bloodthirsty during the full moon," Gaara said. Then the malicious energy that was always simmering under the surface of his skin swelled outwards, engulfing both Dosu and I. I choked at the sudden onslaught of such evil energy. It was more than just killing intent. My muscles locked and I feared that I might fall over into the darkness below simply because I could no longer keep my balance. I watched as his right arm seemed to melt and bubble over into an enormous sand claw. His face remained impassive even as his eyes took on a mad glint. Thankfully, he jumped down from our statue to meet Dosu on the peak, putting some distance between us. Gaara was scary, but this some else entirely. I could feel my teeth crack under the pressure of his chakra.

Survival instinct took over. Never mind falling to my death – I had a far greater chance of living if I threw myself off this roof unconscious than to stick around for this. I forced my wooden legs to bend as I slowly shifted my weight to prepare to jump off to the other side of the roof.

I couldn't. Literally.

I looked down to see ropes of sand tying me in place. I couldn't even budge a muscle. He wanted me to watch. Or wait to be his next dinner.

"What…is this? What are you?" Dosu's bluster had long disappeared. Gaara swung back his claw and smashed it into the roof. The entire building shook as he broke through hundreds of panels to gouge out three furrows. I added my own screams to the screech of broken metal and wood as my vision shook from the force of his attack.

And just like that, it was over.

When the dust had cleared, Gaara's arm was his own again, and he stared down stonily at Dosu's crumpled, blood-splattered form. The three lines of damage looked devastating across the vast expanse of the roof, but the same injury on the genin's body looked positively ghastly. I found myself wondering idly if there were people inside this building and getting Dosu's blood dripped on them. The tendrils of sand holding me loosened and retreated back into Gaara's gourd, and I could only slump over my knees in relief. It was a lot easier to breathe now that the air wasn't thickened with the outright presence of the One-Tail.

Gaara reappeared on the statue. I refused to meet his eyes this time.

"Let's go."

The night sky disappeared with a blur of sand. I dropped onto the floor with but a whimper. He took a seat on his bed, his back to me again.

"Leave, Asahi."

I was more than happy obey.

000000000

The next morning, Baki brought two things to our team meeting: a new injury and more orders. The only other thing the universe needed in order to rub my face in my bad choices last night was a large neon sign pointing at him saying "Look at who you should have followed!". Of course, not long after I decided this, Eagle dropped by my room with a summons for an emergency meeting.

"Hayate was found dead by Kikyou Castle this morning," the Sandaime informed us grimly. So that's what that building was called. My moment of eureka must have shown in my body language, since he glanced at me questioningly, and I nodded, indicating that I had some information to share as well.

"Falcon, report." I stood, feeling small and useless in front of my Konoha peers.

"Sabaku no Gaara engaged Dosu of the Sound last night on the roof of Kikyou Castle, defeating him with small, controlled transformation of the Ichibi. This morning, Baki, leader of Team Sand, has confirmed to his team that Sound are the Sand's allies. He has also confirmed that the Sand is loosing power by saying that the Sand will loose the ability to fight Leaf if they wait any longer. He also has a new wound characteristic of one of the Konoha Crescent sword dances – one of Hayate's specialities, if I recall correctly." I neglected to mention that if I hadn't been dallying around with Gaara, I might have been there to help Hayate.

"Thank you, Falcon. You recall correctly," the Hokage affirmed. "Hayate has been tailing the Sound spy Kabuto. I had hoped that the Sound and Sand's alliance was but a false alarm."

"This isn't safe. We must cancel the Chuunin exam," someone called worriedly.

"No," the Hokage said firmly. "As of now, we have the greatest chance of repelling the attack as it stands. If we evade this time, it will only grow larger in the future." A grin crossed his face, showing a glimpse of the tough old shinobi that he was. "Plus, I trust you guys. When the time comes, we will assemble our strength and fight!"

Despite the Hokage's buoying words, I found it hard to believe them. My information was always too little, too late. After so much effort for me to infiltrate the Sand, it hasn't really change the course of anything. All I could offer was a useless forewarning even as the disaster was approaching. At this rate, I won't have a village at the end of this month. When I returned to my room, in a fit of anger, I violently shoved my ANBU uniform into a sloppy bundle before sealing it away. I sat at the foot of my bed, feeling exhausted even though the day was barely halfway over.

I needed a break. I couldn't be Asahi nor Ino right now.

At this thought, Gaara's face popped into my head. I thought back to the Sand team meeting earlier this morning…

"_Sound will be sending more troops, but Konoha does not trust us," Baki informed us. "They've limited entrance to us four, and the Kazekage's assembly when he comes for the finals. This is essentially an A-class mission – I cannot impress on you guys how important our success is. If we wait any longer, Sand may not longer have the ability to fight the Leaf."_

_I was well aware of Sand's gradual weakening due to an untrustworthy daimyo, but Kankoro was never informed so. And he voiced his confusion as such._

"_The Sand daimyo turns clients to Leaf instead of the Sand hidden village. No matter how skilled the hand and feet are, they are only as stupid as the head," Baki muttered sourly. "We've been trying to prove our abilities to the Daimyo for a long while, but it looks like we're going to fighting for our very existence. That's why shinobi like you were created, Gaara."_

_Gaara frowned, looking almost pained. He remained quiet as Baki continued._

"_That's why we must prove to all the other hidden villages that Sand is not to be underestimated. For this mission…Gaara, we're counting on you and the One-Tail." Gaara narrowed his eyes as he glanced at me. _

"_Yeah," he answered. _

…He'd looked trapped. I felt ashamed for even beginning to feel the same. I actually have a path away from this. But Gaara was created and born for one purpose and one purpose only. He never had a choice.

00000000


	16. Scroll 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I just write.

00000000000

Going Against the Grain

0000000000000

By Airyo

Warning: A bit of angst. Balanced by a bit of failed fluff.

**Previously** (because it's been so damn long and I've forgotten half of what's going on….):

_Short version:_

Sakura buys Asahi a gourd charm. Gaara takes Asahi on a date (of the squishy, show-off-my-killing-abilities variety). Hayate dies, but the Chuunin exam continues. Asahi thinks about Gaara's purpose in the world.

_Long version_:

Asahi makes friendsies with Sakura and Sakura buys her a gourd charm (oh the irony). Later, feeling brave (and possibly extremely stupid), Asahi goes to poke at Gaara, only to discover her extreme fear of heights when he transports them on top of some temple-looking place. Under a full moon. Gaara always did have penchant for romance, no? Then comes the showdown between Gaara and Dosu, in which Dosu does his best imitation of pancake. Or shredded cheese. Then Gaara transports them back to their dorm from their late-night date (not) and Asahi reports to the Hokage. Despite news of Hayate kicking the can, they decide to continue the Chuunin exam. Asahi then thinks about Gaara and his sad, dark past.

Scroll 15

"I'm visiting Naruto today, want to come?" Sakura was arranging a vase of daffodils into a basket.

I agreed, happy to get a chance to see the fox container. He was an idiot (point: he landed himself in the hospital only days before the finals), but he was an inspiring idiot. He was also apparently an incredibly difficult patient, as demonstrated by the irate nurse and empty hospital bed we found when we arrived.

"Where are they?" Sakura muttered darkly after we combed for the hospital for Naruto and his alleged companion, Shikamaru.

"Let's just go visit Lee and stop by later for Naruto-kun," I suggested before Inner-Sakura could emerge. Fortunately, she easily agreed and we headed for the adjacent wing. We found Lee's room easily and burst in with wide smiles.

And walked in on a three-man showdown between Gaara, Naruto, and Shikamaru.

"Did we get the right room?" I whispered sarcastically to myself. Even as I faked a façade of panic, Ino was already analyzing the situation with a critical eye. Naruto and Shikamaru were standing between the still sleeping Lee and Gaara. A long shadow connected the Nara and my teammate, and judging by his irate expression, Naruto had managed to indirectly punch him when he landed a hit on Gaara. Due to the odd angle of the bed, Gaara faced the doorway while the other two had their backs to us.

And none of them noticed that Sakura and I had arrived. I felt so loved.

"Shh, go. Go get help," I murmured to Sakura when she began to hesitantly step forward. She nodded and left. I couldn't interfere overly much without compromising myself, but I couldn't really stand around and watch Gaara Desert Coffin one of my peers either. Not to mention, I was interested in how Gaara would take this interruption – I was surprised he actually waited this long to try and kill Lee. Call me cold, but any new information I can glean meant an extra day of survival for Konoha.

"HEY! What were you trying to do to Thick-Brows?" Naruto was screaming.

"I was trying to kill him," Gaara replied simply. Even Shikamaru, Mr. Genius himself, seemed shocked at how calmly he relayed this. Well, then again, there was really no use to Shadow-Binding a person who can kill you without so much as twitching a finger.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked. "You won the battle."

"Because I want to," Gaara said. The other two boys were like open books, the way their faces flickered through their thoughts. Both of them settled on a look of pseudo-machoism and I groaned inwardly – they are going to attempt to bluff Gaara.

"We know you're strong, but we're not too bad ourselves," the Nara boy said arrogantly. "Plus, it's two-to-one, so you're at an disadvantage." Gaara's eyes flickered to mine briefly. "If you leave quietly, we'll let you off easy."

"Get in my way, and I'll kill you." This was addressed to me, given the trickle of killer intent that was concentrated on me. I started to nod my head, indicating that I will step in if I have to, when Naruto interrupted.

"I won't be killed you! I have a real monster inside me, and I won't loose to you!" I couldn't help but cheer a little for Naruto's new glimmer of coolness.

"A monster, huh?" Gaara said, eyes refocused on Naruto. "Then I am the same as you. Like you said before, I had a messed up childhood. I was born into this world taking life of the woman I would have called my mother. My father had sealed the incarnation of a sand demon in me." Here, his gaze slid to me again. "I was _born_ a monster."

As Shikamaru scoffed at the absurdity of Gaara's story, I could see a thoughtful look on Naruto's face. The satisfied expression Gaara wore, however, worried me. How much is he going to reveal here?

"That's a strange expression of love," the Nara was saying. Damn, he just had to go and mention the trigger word. Can he not read the big tattoo plastered all over Gaara's forehead? Probably had some significance, dumbass.

"Love?" Gaara asked blankly. His eyes were slowly widening as a sign of approaching mania. "Do you know what family is to me? Family…is nothing more than pieces of meat, connected by hate."

Well, that was a lovely image.

"I was created as the village's greatest weapon. My father taught me all the secrets of the shinobi, and he let me do as I pleased. I thought that was love." Gaara spat the last word like something disgusting. "Until…"

I found myself leaning in with interest, even though I already knew the story. Gaara had a surprisingly flair for drama. If he wasn't a bloodthirsty psycho, he could make a pretty good politician. Naruto broke under the curiosity first.

"Until what?"

Gaara's lips stretched into a terrifying smile. His pupils had dilated, eclipsing the sharp intelligence in I usually found in his eyes.

"Ever since I was six, my father has been trying to have me assassinated," he declared with an odd chuckle. My knees had locked and I gripped the doorframe until my knuckles turned white. I wanted to run. "To them, I was something that they wished would disappear." His eyes locked with mine and my knees melted into jelly. If only it were the romantic kind of jelly, instead of the sheer terror that gripped my legs. He was halfway there to whipping out a sand-arm or something like he had when he crushed Dosu. Then just as abruptly, the wildness was gone, masked by an odd philosophical air.

"So it begs the questions: why do I exist? What is my purpose? My conclusion was that as long I had someone to kill, I had a purpose. My purpose is to annihilate everyone around me." I heard the faint cracking of the doorframe as I gripped it too hard. This demonic rage was only masked, not gone, and I watched in frozen horror as tendrils of sand began to weave around Naruto and Shikamaru. A few even began to creep towards me.

"Gaara! Please!" All three pairs of eyes whipped to focus on me, and I realized that I was one who screamed it.

"Only then, will my existence continue." The sand was close to encasing the two boys.

"Naruto-kun! Shikamaru! Ru—"

"That's enough!" A large green thing stepped past me. It took me a moment to recognize Gai. A woman I recognized as Kurenai entered with Sakura. "The finals are tomorrow. No need to get antsy unless you want to forfeit your fight to stay here in the hospital instead."

Gaara snarled, gripping his head as if he couldn't understand Gai's protectiveness. Maybe he couldn't. Who would have ever given him a chance at understanding? My chest hurt at the thought.

"I will kill you," Gaara muttered as he swept past me. His eyes met mine for a moment, and I held strong. Somehow, I knew that he didn't mean me. This time. Nonetheless, I waited until he had disappeared around the corner before turning to Sakura in relief.

"Phew! That was close!" The wide grin of having skirted danger stretched across my face without any effort. You'd think I'd be used to heart attacks by now. Sakura remained silent, averting her gaze. The room was a lot colder than before. A sinking feeling gripped my stomach.

"Sakura-chan?" I whispered hesitantly.

Please.

Don't do this to me.

"Shinrino-san, was it?" I looked up to see Gai, Kurenai and the two boys forming a semi-circle between me and Lee's bed. Their cold expressions were like masks, utterly out of place on faces that have only greeted me with warmth before.

"While the Leaf condones all ninja skills, Lee will not be participating in the finals. Take your games elsewhere." Kurenai had her hands ready for a genjutsu, while Gai looked deceptively relaxed. Even Shikamaru and Naruto had their eyes narrowed in suspicion, even though I had just tried to warn them about Gaara minutes earlier.

"_It's only to be expected,_" Ino muttered in the back of my mind. "_Your teammate just tried to kill Lee. You're a Sand ninja._" I knew. All my training had addressed the possibility of facing my own countrymen as enemies – heck, I've already killed several of them – but nothing had prepared me for the crushing loneliness that resulted from it. Kami, it hurt. My chest hurt. I wanted to scream out that I was on their side. I knew it was completely irrational, but for the first time in a while, I realized how utterly alone I was.

"Sakura-chan?" I hoped desperately that Sakura would maybe still stand by me. I'd tried to help, hadn't I? Sakura bowed her head so her hair hid her eyes.

"You should go."

"Aah," was I could managed. This was punishment for betraying Tsuru. Friends are not allowed in a spy's life. I understand now. I bowed and walked away proudly, with my nose tilted high. As soon I turned the corner, however, I bolted.

My first thought was of Mom. But when I got to the flower shop, it was closed for the day. The building was empty and foreboding, and I berated myself for being stupid enough to try to go to my real family. Above all else, I still had to maintain cover. Now that Sakura and I were no longer friends, I really didn't have that much of an excuse to hang around.

My eyes remained dry throughout my walk back to the dorms for the Chuunin exam, but something terrible was pooling inside me. I had to scream or cry or kill something. Probably wasn't a good idea for me to in the dorms. I adjusted my path to one of the nearby training grounds. I found Kankoro training there.

"Kankoro!" I waved. He regarded me warily as I approached him. His stance warned me to stay away even as I walked up to him with my most winning smile.

"Hi! Can I train with you?" I stepped forward, only to have him match me with a shuffling step back. I stepped again, yet he maintained the large distance between us.

"Is this sort of new kata?" I asked with a half-hysterical chuckle. Kankoro wasn't fooling anyone. He distrusted me. At one point, maybe he could have been a friend.

Friend. I forgot. Spies don't get friends. There is only betrayal from there, on my part or on their part. I dropped the smile that straining my cheeks and regarded him with cold eyes.

"I need to train. Would you mind?" I added a sneer, to give him something to snap back at. It was always easier insult each other than try to awkwardly talk it out.

"Bitch," he bit back, looking relieved. "You need it anyways."

"Fatass."

I wondered if I should punch him, but he'd already left. Instead, I walked up to the nearest post and pressed my fist to it lightly. Maybe if I practiced until my knuckles bled, I'll have enough scarring and won't have to be a spy anymore. I can come back to Leaf and everyone will greet me like a friend. I lightly punched the wood, barely enough to make my knuckles flush. I tried again. I felt a slight twinge. Harder. I winced at the sharp pain. Again. Again. Againagainagain…

I heard the wet plip of liquid hitting the ground before I felt it.

Why the hell was I crying? The skin on my hands hadn't even broken. I stared at my pale hands, and the realization hit me. I am so stupid. I am pretending to be a ninja in another village. It didn't matter if I had a scar or forty. I would never leave Suna. I was bound to it until either my death or Suna's death - a lifetime of tip-toeing on the tightrope of betrayal.

I found myself struggling to remember the faces of the Konoha nin I had killed. I remembered being to able to see them so clearly before, as the adrenaline and desperation rushed through my limbs. Even Tsuru's face seemed hazy. Had I forgotten them so quickly? My very identity balanced between killing my countrymen and killing my "countrymen" to appease both sides, and I could barely remember the sacrifices. Was that all I was worth? Destruction? Annihilate Suna to satisfy Konoha, while razing Konoha ninjas to the ground to satisfy Suna.

Tsuru. Those faceless Leaf nin. Matsumaru. Hayate. Sakura. Sasuke. Naruto. Heck, entire villages, given the secret attack. I've hurt more people that Gaara ever could crush. I am the monster here.

"_So it begs the questions: why do I exist? What is my purpose?_ "

Gaara's words replayed in my head.

"_My conclusion was that as long I had someone to kill, I had a purpose. My purpose is to annihilate everyone around me. Only then, will my existence continue."_

He was so certain of himself. I found myself jealous of his stark viewpoint. It must be easy to maintain such a selfish loyalty. I couldn't afford such luxuries! Frustration and self-loathing surged up like boiling water and I punched the post with a scream, welcoming the pain.

I never felt it.

My fist was stopped an inch before it contact. A tendril of sand gripped my wrist far too tightly. I followed the sand up to a gourd-shaped silhouette edged by the sun. Gaara. Perched on the training post. Like a monkey.

Again.

Hysterical sobs of laughter burst out of me like a zombie rising from the grave – a twisted parody of what it had once been. I sounded like a bad mix between a hyena and dying crow. And I was blotchy from crying. And there was snot running down my face. I looked ravishing.

"_Why do you even care? Aren't you having an emotion breakdown right now?_" Ino muttered clinically.

"I don't know," I cried out loud. "I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyways!" I tugged at the sand vine in vain. To my surprise, Gaara followed and dropped down to the ground beside me. I kept my head down, trying to use my hair to hide the mixture of snot and tears dripping down my face. I might be having one of the worst days of my life, but that didn't mean I wasn't allowed at least a vague attempt at maintaining dignity.

"You are not allowed to die yet."

Huh…?

Did Gaara think I was considering suicide or something? That was almost kind of sweet.

"Not until after the Chuunin exams," he continued.

…almost…

Then I realized that the shock of his comment had stopped my tears. What he did next nearly stopped all my bodily functions.

He took my hand in his. I thought he hated being touched, though that would explain why he was trying to crush my bones.

"This is the hand that will destroy you. None else. So it is useless to even contemplate other methods."

Then he left.

As if that solved everything.

"THAT BASTARD!" I screeched, kicking repeatedly at the post in frustration. I wasn't even sure if he was trying to comfort me or taunt me or threaten me. Probably all three. It was so simple for him, but that just made it all the more complex for the rest of us. Admittedly, it distracted me from my little tantrum, but as the adrenaline from our encounter wore off, I could feel the remnants of depression and loneliness creep back.

But the tears had stopped. That was something.

Resolutely, I wiped my face with my sleeve. The Hokage will probably want a report of the last incident. I am useful. There is a purpose to me that worth it all. I had to believe that.

00000000

The Sandaime looked skeptical, though all he did was hmm knowingly.

"So afterwards, he said 'You are not allowed to die'?" he clarified.

"That was exactly what I wrote down, Hokage-sama," I said flatly. After so many meetings, it was hard not to start treating him like a grandfather. He was just so easy to talk to! The Hokage chuckled and wrote something down on my report.

"Sounds like Gaara is gaining a certain fondness for Asahi."

"Unfortunately, yes. His observance makes it hard to maintain cover," I confessed. I had already included Gaara's knowledge of my true loyalties in my initial report, but Sandaime didn't seem to think it was on great danger yet, given Gaara's strained attachment to a village that doesn't want him.

"No, this is to your advantage," the Hokage corrected.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, his head might implode if I tried to seduce him." He laughed, writing something else down.

"No seduction. But the position as a friend will help you." I nodded reluctantly in agreement. Friends were not something I can have. And befriending Gaara sounded like a terrible idea. But this was the Hokage speaking.

"You must understand, it's possible that Gaara may be your ally in this. An enemy's enemy is a tool that you cannot throw away. Above all else, you are to maintain cover. I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, but your primary objective remains Shinrino Asahi. If Konoha should fall, your position as a Suna nin can mean life or death for your comrades. If Konoha doesn't, we will still take damage. Trying to recover with an enemy waiting behind our backs is dangerous. Either way, you cannot erase this link."

I nodded, humbled, yet glowing with importance. I am protecting Leaf. Even if everyone but the Hokage hates me, I am protecting them.

That had to be enough.

00000000000000

AN: Btw, I changed the prologue for little more coherency. Includes cute scene with chibis Gaara and Ino, so go read!


End file.
